Upper Iowa men's basketball team opened their 2021-22 campaign in Omaha, Neb. on Saturday night. The Peacocks took on Creighton University, an NCAA Division I member of the Big East Conference in an exhibition game. UIU held a lead through the first thirteen minutes of the first half and played even with the Bluejays in the second half, but a dominant final seven minutes of the first half provided the home team the cushion they needed to post a 76-61 win.
The Peacocks converted 10 three-pointers on the night including the first two shots of the game by super seniors
Jareese Williams and
Joe Smoldt. Williams finished the game with a team-high 16 points including four trifectas, while Smoldt added 13 points with three long-range makes. Transfer
Nick Reid was the third Peacock in double-figure scoring with 10 points. Reid made an immediate impact for UIU posting a double-double thanks to 10 rebounds as well.
Jake Hilmer scored 7, handed out 5 assists and grabbed 4 steals.
Five minutes into the game, Creighton held an 11-9 lead, but Upper Iowa went on a quick 9-2 run over a two-minute span to get ahead 18-13. The run was fueled by buckets from Williams, Smoldt and Hilmer in front of a three-pointer from
Cade Moritz. Three-pointers from Williams and Smoldt kept the Peacocks in the lead, 24-19, midway through the half. After a Bluejay jumper pulled the home team within three, Williams threw in another dagger from deep to push the lead back to 27-21 with 8:36 to play.
Creighton came out of a timeout after the fast break three-pointer from Williams and closed out the final eight-plus minutes of the half by outscoring their guests 23-2.
The Bluejays pushed their advantage to a high-mark of 24 points on several occasions in the second half, but the Peacocks were able to answer with a few runs of their own including a 6-0 run to finish the game and set the final margin at 15 points, 76-61.
Ryan Hawkins lead the Bluejays with 15 points and 5 rebounds, while Alex O'Connell added 14 points and 7 rebounds and Ryan Nembhard and KeyShawn Feazell each chipped in 10 points.
Upper Iowa will open their regular season in Kansas City, Mo. on Friday and Sunday, Nov. 12 and 14. The Peacocks will play Missouri Southern State University on Friday at 2:30 p.m. and Pittsburg State University on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
