The UIU men's basketball team used an 18-0 run in the first half to race out to a 57-31 lead at halftime of Saturday's non-conference game against No. 2 Truman State University. The Peacocks continued to keep up the torrid scoring pace in the second half with another big lead pushing their advantage to 35 before the final score settled at 103-77. Upper Iowa improves to 6-0 overall, while Truman State drops to 4-2.
Dylan Jones opened the game with a three-pointer at the top of the key and the Peacocks would never trail in the game. The three-pointer foreshadowed what was to come as the home team knocked down nine trifectas in the first half and 16 for the game. Six different UIU players converted a three-point attempt in the game led by Joe Smoldt's seven triples.
Smoldt scored 29 points to lead UIU knocking down 7-13 from deep and 3-4 inside the arc with a pair of free throws. The game-high 29 points ties his career-high, which he set twice last season at Wayne State College and at home against Minnesota State University, Mankato.
As good as Smoldt was, Connor Duax was UIU's leading scorer at halftime. The Dubuque native scored 17 in the opening 20 minutes on 7-9 shooting including a pair of three-pointers and a breakaway dunk. The newest and oldest Duax brother with UIU scored 20 in the game.
In the first half, the Peacocks took an early 17-8 lead, but the Bulldogs used a layup and back-to-back alley-oop dunks to force a UIU timeout after slimming the lead to three, 17-14. The Peacocks answered with a 13-4 run to go up 30-18 fueled by five points from Jareese Williams.
Truman State once again cut the Upper Iowa lead to single digits, 34-26, at the 6:07 mark, but the Peacocks once again had an answer. Upper Iowa left the Bulldogs behind with an 18-0 run over the next five minutes. The run was highlighted by three three-pointers including a 35-footer from Williams and fueled by eight points from Smoldt and seven from Duax. As impressive as the offense was during the run, UIU's defense which featured strong play from Connor, Max and Lucas Duax, as well as Cade Moritz, held the Bulldogs to 0-7 shooting for the five-minute stretch. A final bank shot from Connor Duax as time ran out in the first half set the halftime gap at 26, 57-31.
In the second half, UIU opened the action with a quick 8-2 run thanks to a pair of three-pointers from Smoldt that pushed the lead to 65-33. Truman dug in and began to claw their way back using a six-minute stretch to outscore their guests 20-10, but the run only dropped Upper Iowa's advantage to 22, 75-53.
The Peacocks put the game away over the next seven minutes outscoring the Bulldogs 17-5. The final run came with scores from six different Peacocks led by Smoldt, who scored five, and Moritz, who chipped in four.
Both benches cleared with about four minutes to play and UIU holding a 92-60 lead. After the final flurry that saw Truman State knock down three long balls and Upper Iowa shoot 5-7 with one three-pointer, the final score was set at 103-77.
Cade McKnight led the Bulldogs with 17 points, while Sam Lock came off the bench to score 14. Truman struggled from deep knocking down 8-27 from behind the line. Truman State did take advantage of their opportunities at the free throw line hitting 15-17.
In addition to Smoldt and Connor Duax's big games, Upper Iowa got 12 points and four rebounds from Moritz, 12 points and six rebounds from Williams, 11 points and seven assists from Jake HIlmer and eight points and 11 rebounds from Jones. Max Duax scored four and handed out three assists, while Lucas Duax returned from injury for his first action of the season and recorded four assists and a rebound.
Upper Iowa will be on the road on Thursday, Dec. 2, for a Northern Sun Conference game at Minnesota State University, Mankato before returning home for a NSIC battle against Concordia University, St. Paul on Saturday, Dec. 4. The men's games will be the first contest of the men's/women's doubleheader on both days.
