THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK MEN'S BASKETBALL... The Peacocks will head to North Dakota this weekend where they will play a pair of cross-divisional NSIC matchups. Upper Iowa will first face the University of Mary on Friday, Feb. 7 at 7:30 p.m. The Peacocks will then migrate north to Minot, N.D. where they will play Minot State University on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 5:30 p.m. Live stats and a webcast will be available at UIUPeacocks.com/LIVE. The games will also stream live on the NSIC app through Roku and Fire devices, as well as Apple and Android TV.

WHO LET THE DOGS OUT?... The Peacocks split their most recent weekend series falling 79-62 to the Huskies of St. Cloud State University before picking up a 84-79 win over the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs. Minnesota Duluth was ranked 23rd nationally headed into the weekend. Saturday night was the first Peacock home win against a ranked opponent since January 2010. Following the weekend split, the Peacocks remain in sole possession of second place in the NSIC South with a two-game advantage over third place Winona State University. 

On Friday, the Peacocks and Huskies went toe-to-toe until St. Cloud State used an 11-2 run to ahead 30-21 with 4:09 to play in the first half. The Huskies extended their lead to double figures in the next frame going up 46-34 with 17:39 to play. From that point on, St. Cloud State led by at least six points for the remainder of the game. The Huskies pushed their lead to as many as 20 points before ending the game ahead 79-62.

On Saturday, the Bulldogs jumped out to an early 12-2 lead to begin the game. The Peacocks immediately rattled off seven unanswered points making it a one-possession game with 13:52 to go in the first half. Upper Iowa then gained the lead for the first time amid an 11-2 stretch that put UIU up 37-32 with 0:52 to play in the first frame. The Peacocks and Bulldogs exchanged a pair of second half runs, the remainder of the game was closely contested but the Peacocks never gave up the lead resulting in the 84-79 victory.

PRODUCTIVE PEACOCKS... Lucas Duax's play over the weekend earned him a spot on the NSIC week 12 top performers list. Duax averaged 14.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 2.5 assists per game over the weekend while shooting a deadly-accurate 11-16 (68.8%) from the field. Duax tallied five steals against UMD, he is the first Peacock to record five steals in a single game since November 2017. Duax leads the NSIC in steals with 2.2 per game. He plays a big role in Upper Iowa's number one ranking in steals per game (7.64) and turnover margin (3.00) among NSIC members.

Along with Duax (12,16), Jareese Williams (13,12) was one of two Peacocks to score in double-digits in both games over the weekend. Williams also came down with a team-high seven rebounds on Friday night and went 5-12 (41.6%) from three-point land between the two games. Williams' 46% rate from deep ranks first in the NSIC and sixteenth nationally. He is the Peacocks' leading scorer with 14.1 points per game and second on the team in rebounds with 4.7 per contest.

Jake Hilmer's consecutive double-digit scoring streak ended at seven games after falling short of scoring 10 or more on Friday evening. Hilmer However, led the Peacocks with 23 points the following night including 14 points in the final 6:10 to help propel the Peacocks to victory over the highly touted Bulldogs. Hilmer also registered eight assists between the two games. Hilmer is second on the team in points per game with 12.6 and second in the NSIC in assists per game with 4.9.

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS… Upper Iowa holds a 10-7 advantage in the career series against UMary. The Marauders are 10-12 overall, 5-11 in conference play. UMary is coming off of a four-game road trip in which they went 1-3. The Marauders suffered a loss by a slim margin to the University of Minnesota Crookston (71-68) before picking up a tight win over Bemidji State University (78-77). UMary ended the trip on back-to-back losses against Wayne State College (85-77) and Augustana University (76-68). The Marauders are led by Matthew Kreklow (13.6) and Jaylan White (11.3). The Duo combines for nearly 25 points per contest. Krelow ranks among the top 10 in the NSIC in rebounds per game with 8.4, blocks per game with 2.1, and field goal percentage as he connects on 54% of his attempts. White ranks in the top 10 of the assists category with 3.8 per contest. As a team UMary has a +3.7 margin from the free throw line.

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS...  Upper Iowa is up 8-3 in the career series against Minot State. The Beavers hold a 10-12 record this season, 4-12 in NSIC play. The Beavers were most recently defeated by Wayne State 71-62. Prior to the loss, Minot State erupted on a four-game win streak, three out of the four wins came on the road. The stretch featured victories over the NSIC South Division leading University of Sioux Falls (69-66), Bemidji State (74-67), Minnesota Crookston (91-68), and Augustana (82-80). The Beavers are led by Kyle Beisch (18.9), Cody Max (15.4), and Kody Dwyer (12.0). The trio combines for over 45 points per game. Max leads the NSIC in assists per game with 6.5. As a team Minot State has a +2.7 rebounding margin.