Upper Iowa lost 92-90 to Winona State University on Sunday afternoon. Upper Iowa led for over 34 of the 40 minutes but the Warriors surged late in the second half to secure a win. Jake Hilmer led all scorers with 26 points in the loss. The defeat marks UIU's second-straight loss by a two-point margin. With the shortcoming, the Peacocks' losing streak extends to four games, their longest since a 15-game skid during the 2018-19 season. Following the game, Upper Iowa moves to 2-4 overall, 0-2 in the NSIC while Winona State improves to 2-1 on the season.

Upper Iowa started off red hot jumping out to a 14-3 lead with 14:33 left in the half. Joe Smoldt bolstered the scoring spree with seven points. Winona State countered with a 13-4 advantage of their own to get within one score at the 12:09 mark. The Peacocks battled right back with an 11-2 stretch regaining a double-digit lead (29-18) with 7:32 on the clock. Upper Iowa kept the lead through the rest of the period holding a 47-38 advantage at the break.

The Peacocks led wire-to-wire in the first frame in part thanks to a 10-0 advantage off of turnovers. Jake Hilmer led Upper Iowa with 16 points on a 5-6 (83.3%) rate from the floor including a 4-4 mark from beyond the arc in addition to registering three rebounds and a pair of assists. Joe Smoldt followed close behind with 11 points on a 4-6 (66.7%) clip from the field including a 2-2 rate from deep. Smoldt added three assists and two boards to his first half totals.

Winona State came out of halftime full-steam ahead as a 10-0 run gave the Warriors their first lead of the day. Four consecutive WSU field goals made it a 48-47 game with 18:06 to go. After some back-and-forth basketball, the Upper Iowa offense exploded out on a 10-2 run reclaiming a double-digit lead. Six points from Jareese Williams fueled the stretch that put the Peacocks ahead 75-65 with 7:41 to play. The Warriors responded with a 22-8 run including nine unanswered points that put Winona State ahead 87-83 with just 1:46 remaining, their largest lead of the day. 

A plethora of foul shots ensued for both squads in the final moments of the game. The Peacocks got within one point after Hilmer sank a pair of free throws. Upper Iowa immediately fouled Kevion Taylor who hit both attempts making it a 92-89 game in favor of WSU with three seconds to spare. The Warriors then fouled Smoldt to avoid a potential game-tying three-pointer. Smoldt hit his first attempt before intentionally missing the second. Smoldt obtained his own rebound before firing up an attempt from beyond the arc that was on target but fell just short of the rim resulting in the 92-90 Warrior win.

STATS OF THE GAME… 

• The Peacocks forced nine turnovers while committing just four.

• Winona State was more efficient from all three scoring levels: 30-56 (53.6%) to 31-66 (47.0%) from the floor, 15-30 (50.0%) to 14-31 (45.2%) from deep, and 17-21 (81.0%) to 14-19 (73.7%) from the free throw.  

• UIU dished out 19 assists compared to 11 registered by WSU.

PEACOCKS OF THE GAME… 

• Hilmer had a game-high 26 points on a 7-12 (58.3%) mark from the floor, a 4-5 (80%) rate from deep, and a perfect 8-8 from the line. Hilmer added a team-high six assists, three rebounds, and a steal.

• Smoldt scored 23 points on a 8-15 (53.3%) clip from the field including a 5-8 (62.5%) rate from downtown in addition to a trio of rebounds and assists.

• Williams scored 10 points and came down with a team-high seven rebounds.

• Lucas Duax recorded 10 points, four rebounds, three assists, and a steal.

UP NEXT… Upper Iowa will hit the road to take on Wayne State College on Jan. 22-23.