The Upper Iowa men's basketball team came out on top in their final regular season game of the year, beating the Concordia – St. Paul Golden Bears 95-77. For the second straight night, Joe Smoldt paced the UIU offense with 26 points. The Peacocks sent their two seniors, Munachiso Okonkwo and Quentin Blaue out in style as UIU improves to 7-21 (4-18 NSIC), snapping out of a 15-game skid.

Upper Iowa dominated the first half, holding the Golden Bears to just 24 first half points on 22.9 percent shooting. The Peacock defense held CSP's top scorers, Isaiah McKay and Bryndan Matthews, to just two first half points and limited the pair to just one field goal on their 14 attempts. On the other end of the floor Joe Smoldt had an explosive first half, burying 5 three-point attempts on his way to 17 points.

The Golden Bears turned things around d in the second half, shooting 57.9 percent as a team and recorded 53 second half points. Lee Higgins led the charge for CSP with 15 second half points but that was not enough to dig the Golden Bears out of their first half hole.

The Peacocks were lights out from beyond the arc, knocking own 17 of their 29 long-range shots. Quentin Blaue was a perfect six for six in his final game in Dorman Gym. Smoldt also had six makes from three, Kyle Haber was good for two, and Jackson Foley, Jareese Williams, and Chris Olson each contributed one. 

For the second straight game, UIU outrebounded their opponents pulling down 34 boards to Concordia's 32. 
Four Peacocks had double-digit scoring performances on Saturday night. Smoldt's 26 points led the Peacocks and was supported by a career-high 18 points from Blaue. Haber and Okonkwo each had 12 points in UIU's win over the Golden Bears.

In their final regular season game, Upper Iowa had their best night shooting this season. The Peacocks hit 32 of their 53 attempts from the field for a season-high 60.4 field goal percentage. The last time UIU shot over 60 percent from the field came back in January of 2018 when the Peacocks shot 64.3 percent against Minot State. 

Mu Okonkwo and Quentin Blaue made their final home game in Peacock blue one to remember. Blaue did not miss on a perfect six for six night and had a career-high 18 points. Okonkwo had 3 massive blocks, 8 boards, and 12 points highlighted by a pair of monstrous dunks. 

Saturday night's result brings both programs' records to 4-17 in conference play. The Peacocks will have the seventh seed while the Golden Bears will be in the eighth spot due to the head to head record. Upper Iowa will take on St. Cloud State on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in the first round of the NSIC/Sanford Health men's basketball tournament. Concordia will take on the North's top seeded team, Northern State at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday.