Upper Iowa secured their third-straight win to open the 2021-22 season on Friday night with an 84-67 decision over Davenport University. The Peacocks used a 17-3 run near the midway point of the second half to secure a 21-point lead and never looked back. With the win, UIU improves to 3-0, while Davenport suffers their first loss to drop to 2-1.
 
Super seniors Jareese Williams and Joe Smoldt both scored 23 points to lead the Peacock offense combining for nine three-pointers. Williams was 9-18 overall and 5-11 from deep, while Smoldt shot 8-17 from the floor and 4-9 from beyond the arc. Jake Hilmer added 12 points, while six other Peacocks scratched the scoring column.
 
Both teams snared 29 rebounds with Upper Iowa claiming a slight 8-6 advantage on the offensive glass, but notched a 16-4 advantage in second chance points. Nick Reid led UIU with a game-high nine rebounds and Dylan Jones grabbed seven.
 
Jarius Stevens led three Panthers in double-figure scoring with 13 points, while Chris Rollins scored 12.
 
UIU trailed by three points, 13-10, as the clock neared the 12-minute mark in the first half. A pair of three-pointers from Smoldt and Williams put UIU back on top at 10:15, and the Peacocks never surrendered the lead again. After a Panther layup, an 11-2 run by Upper Iowa pushed the advantage to ten, 27-17. The quick outburst was fueled by three trifectas out of the right hands of Hilmer, Smoldt and Williams. The Peacocks maintained their lead into halftime, but Davenport fought back to cut the margin to six, 39-33, at the break.
 
Four and a half minutes into the second half, the Peacocks led 50-43. Upper Iowa launched a 17-3 run over the next five minutes to take firm control of the game. During the five-minute run, UIU's defense forced four turnovers and held Davenport to just one make in five attempts. Offensively, Upper Iowa got scores from five different players including a pair of buckets from both Smoldt and Williams. When the run ended, UIU led 67-46. The lead hit a high mark of 24 points on several occasions, the last of which came with just over two minutes to play, 82-58. The Panthers outscored the Peacocks 9-2 over the final two minutes to set the final score at 84-67.
 
Upper Iowa will face the University of Wisconsin-Parkside on day two, Nov. 20, of the Haribo Invitational in Kenosha, Wis. The Peacocks and Rangers are slated to begin at 3 p.m. on Saturday.