The Peacocks men's basketball team was unable to contain the Beavers' three-point shooters as Upper Iowa fell to Minot State 87-84 on Saturday night. Sophomore Joe Smoldt recorded 27 points on the night but that wasn't enough to keep Upper Iowa from dropping to 6-15 (3-15 NSIC). The win for Minot State improves the Beavers' record to 12-15 (7-11 NSIC).

The Peacocks trailed by eight in the final minute of the game and were able to cut Minot's lead to three after Jareese Williams connected on his three attempts from the charity stripe, Joe Smoldt scored on a fast break, and Quentin Blaue buried a three with just 18 seconds left on the clock. Down by three in the final seconds of the game, Upper Iowa threw up a half court prayer that came up just short to close the game 84-87.

The Beavers gave the Peacocks a taste of their own medicine from beyond the arc on Saturday night. The Peacocks, who entered the game as the 10th ranked team in the nation for made three-pointers per game, were on the receiving end of Minot State's three-point barrage. The Beavers knocked down 14 long-range shots, 8 coming in the second half alone, on 70 percent shooting. 

The Peacocks were honed in from deep as well, burying 11 long-range shots against the Beavers. Joe Smoldt led the charge with four makes from beyond the arc, Quentin Blaue connected on three, Jackson Joens buried two of his three attempts, and Jareese Williams and Chris Olson each added one. 

Upper Iowa connected on 28 of 48 attempts from the field for a season-high 58.3 field goal percentage. However, the Peacocks were overshadowed by Minot's 63 percent shooting thanks to their 34 of 54 performance on the other end of the floor. 

Joe Smoldt tied his season-high point total with 27 points on the night, marking his fifth 20-point performance of the season. Two other Peacocks reached double figures in Saturday's game, Jareese Williams notched 14 points and Munachiso Okonkwo contributed 12 points. 

Kyle Beisch was the key to the Minot's offense, scoring 25 points, connecting on a season-high seven long-distance shots. David Akibo, Kody Dwyer, and Max Cody each added 13 points to help guide Minot's offense.

Upper Iowa will return to action next weekend in their final road trip of the season, taking on both Southwest Minnesota State and the University of Sioux Falls Cougars.