Upper Iowa's men's basketball team, which reentered the NABC Top 25 at No. 24 earlier this afternoon, improved to 6-0 against non-conference opponents this season with an 86-74 win over Maryville University on Tuesday night in Fayette. The Peacocks knocked down nearly half of their field goal attempts including 12 three-pointers to improve to 10-1 on the season. The 12-point decision dropped the Saints' record to 7-3 overall.
 
Upper Iowa's defense stifled the Saints and forced Maryville into 16 turnovers, which the home team turned into a 21-10 advantage in points off turnovers. Six different UIU players recorded at least one of the eight steals recorded.
 
Joe Smoldt (17), Jake Hilmer (16) and Jareese Williams (15) combined for 48 of UIU's 86 points, while Cade Moritz continued his solid play with 11 points and Nick Reid added nine, Lucas Duax scored eight, Max Duax with six and Dylan Jones netted four. Reid and Moritz grabbed a team-high five rebounds apiece, while Reid added three blocks and a pair of assists.
 
Ari Jackson scored a game-high 20 points for the Saints with four three-pointers, while JT Morgan posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
 
The Peacocks came out of the gate on fire storming out to a 28-11 lead midway through the first half. Upper Iowa shot 67% from the field in the opening ten minutes and converted five of their nine three-point attempts. Hilmer led the way with 10 points in the early going, while Smoldt added seven and Jones and Moritz each netted a pair of buckets.
 
Maryville found their footing and slimmed the margin to seven points, 33-26, with a three-minute, 15-5 run of their own. The Saints only missed one shot during their offensive outburst.
 
Upper Iowa didn't go without for long using a quick 9-2 run to reestablish a double-digit lead, 42-28, with two and a half minutes to play. The home team settled for a 10-point advantage at halftime, 47-37, as Williams closed the half with a pair of free throw makes.
 
In the second, Maryville cut the gap to four points, 56-52, after outscoring their hosts 11-4 over nearly four minutes. MU's Jackson poured in seven points for the Saints during the run and UIU's offense turned the ball over three times.
 
The Peacocks answered the call over the next three minutes with an 11-0 run fueled by an old-fashioned three-point play by Nick Reid on a steal and breakaway, as well as a corner three-pointer. Max Duax also hit a big three during the run. A Williams' trifecta pushed the lead to its high mark in the second half of fifteen points, 73-58, with just over six minutes to play.
 
Maryville got the split under ten, but a Smoldt jumper with under a minute to play pushed the gap back to fifteen, 83-68, and Lucas Duax put the exclamation point on the win with a breakaway dunk to set the final score at 86-74.
 
UIU will host No. 23 Augustana University on Friday, Dec. 17 at 5:30 p.m. before welcoming Wayne State College to Fayette on Saturday, Dec. 18 at 3:30 p.m. The Peacocks, Vikings and Wildcats all enter the weekend with 4-1 NSIC records at the top of the NSIC South Division standings.