Upper Iowa fell to Wayne State University 88-69 in Friday night's matchup. The Peacocks move to 4-4 (1-1 in NSIC play)Â on the year while Wayne State improves to 4-6 (1-1)Â in 2019-20.
The Peacocks and Wildcats battled back and forth in the first half. Neither team led by more than two possessions until Wayne State scored 10 unanswered points to go up 31-23 with 4:52 left to play in the first frame. The run was highlighted by eight points from sophomore guard Nick Ferrarini. After trading a trio of baskets with Wayne State, Upper Iowa went on an 8-0 run of their own to end the half down by one. The run was fueled by a three point play from Max Duax, Jareese Williams' third three-pointer of the half, and a dunk from Dylan Jones that put the game at 38-37 in favor of Wayne State.
The Peacocks (48.4%) and the Wildcats (48.5%) were nearly even from the field in the first half. Excluding Jareese Williams who went 3-4 (75%) from three-point range, Upper Iowa struggled from long-distance (27.3%) while Wayne State flourished (50%). Upper Iowa was able to draw nine fouls, five of which shooting fouls, while committing just five of their own and preventing the Wildcats from getting to the line. However, the Peacocks struggled from the charity stripe as they went 4-10 (40%). Wayne State (24) also doubled Upper Iowa's (12) first half rebound count. What helped UIU was their efficient play, the Peacocks committed just four first half turnovers compared to nine made by WSU.
Williams led the Peacocks in the first half with 11 points. Max Duax also emerged as a threat to score. Duax had seven points after going 3-4 (75%) from the field. He also had a crucial steal and dished out an assist during the Peacocks run late in the half.
Wayne State came out of the locker room red-hot to start the second half. The Wildcats immediately went on a 12-0 run to go up 50-37 with 16:27 to play.Â
The Wildcats' lead increased to as many as 22 points. Wayne State went up 75-55 with 6:45 left on the clock after breaking away on a 14-4 run.
Upper Iowa cut the lead in half after scoring 11-straight unanswered points to put the score at 77-66 with 2:58 remaining. The run was fueled by five points apiece from Joe Smoldt and Jake Hilmer. However, the run was not enough to recover from the Wildcats' second half surge resulting in the 88-69 Upper Iowa loss.Â
Wayne State was able to pull away in the second half due to their efficient shooting, advantage down low and ability to get to the free throw line. The Wildcats out shot the Peacocks 56.7% to 29.7% from the field in the second half. After registering zero free throws in the first half, Wayne State hit 15 of their 19 attempts in the second half. WSU also out rebounded UIU 26-14 in the half. Sophomore center Jordan Jansen had 21 rebounds on the night.
STATS OF THE GAME…Â
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Wayne State out shot Upper Iowa in every category: 56.4% to 38.2% from the field, 41.2% to 26.9% from three, and 78.9% to 58.8% from the free throw line.
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The Peacocks had 10 steals compared to just four created by the Wildcats.
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Upper Iowa committed just 10 turnovers compared to 19 from Wayne State.Â
QUOTABLES...
"I thought we did what we needed to do in the first half. We defended them well and limited their easy scoring opporunities. We left some points out there with missed free throws and a few missed open looks but still put ourselves in a good spot to win."
"The first five minutes set the tone for the second half, we gave them some easy baskets and confidence. From there on we had to try and play catch-up. Our effort was there all night, we just needed to do a better job slowing their run down and making our open shots." - Head Coach,Â
Brooks McKowen  Â
PEACOCK OF THE GAME…Â
UP NEXT … The Peacocks will finish their road trip in Sioux Falls, S.D. and take on Augustana University on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 5:30 p.m. Live stats, audio, and a webcast will be available at UIUPeacocks.com/LIVE. The game will also stream live on the NSIC app through Roku and Fire devices, as well as Apple and Android TV.
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