The No. 24 Peacock men's basketball team pushed their win streak to six straight with an 88-76 victory over Wayne State College in the teams' final contest of the 2021 calendar year. Upper Iowa found themselves down ten points in the first half, but the home team rallied to take a lead in the first half and then controlled the pace in the second half scoring 49 points in the final twenty minutes to secure the 12-point win.

UIU improves to 12-1 overall and 6-1 in the NSIC, while Wayne State falls to 7-5 overall and 4-2 in the conference.
 
Jareese Williams led the Peacocks with 24 points, fueled by four three-pointers and 8-8 shooting at the free throw line, and pulled down seven rebounds. Joe Smoldt added 18 with four trifectas, three rebounds, three assists and two steals, while Jake Hilmer recorded 16 points, seven assists and a pair of steals. Lucas Duax came off the bench to add 10 points, three rebounds and a pair of steals. Nick Reid scored six points, all at the line, and snared seven boards.
 
Justin Eagins led the Wildcats with 23 points and five rebounds, while Jordan Janssen netted 17 points and seven rebounds.
 
As a team, Upper Iowa shot over 50% from the field knocking down 28-54 (51.9%). UIU won the rebounding battle 34-30 as well.
 
Wayne State jumped out to a 19-9 lead just six minutes into the contest thanks to a hot start. The Wildcats made nine of their first 10 shots fueled by seven points from Eagins.
 
Upper Iowa settled themselves after a timeout and launched a six-minute run outscoring their guest 19-8 to take a one-point, 28-27, lead. Both Williams and Lucas Duax scored six points during the run as UIU converted 5-7 from the field and 9-9 at the free throw line. Defensively, the Peacocks held the Wildcats to just two makes during the run. The teams exchanged buckets over the final minutes of the half at went into the locker room tied at 39-39.
 
The Peacocks came out of halftime and knocked down their first four shots including three from long range by Williams (2) and Smoldt (1). Upper Iowa used the 11-4 run to push out to a 50-43 lead. As the second half progressed the Wildcats chipped away at the lead pulling within four, 67-63, with a little more than 13 minutes to play.
 
Sparked by an elbow jumper from Hilmer, the Peacocks outscored their guests 19-9 over the next seven minutes. UIU knocked down 8-13 from the field and forced three Wayne State turnovers to grow their advantage to 14 points, 76-62. Smoldt fueled the run with 10 points including a back-to-back three-pointers.
 
Wayne State cut the margin to 10 points, but the Peacocks converted free throw after free throw to not only protect their lead, but expand it to its biggest mark of 16 points, 88-72, with 49 seconds on the clock. The Wildcats scored the final four points of the game to set the final count at 88-76.
 
The Peacocks will now take a week-long break for the holidays before returning in 2022. Upper Iowa will be on the road at Winona State University on Sunday, Jan. 2 at 3:30 p.m.