THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK MEN'S BASKETBALL… Upper Iowa is set to host the NSIC South Division Leading Minnesota State University-Mankato for the team's final home weekend of 2021. The Peacocks will face off against the Mavericks on Friday, Feb. 12 at 6 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 13 at 2 p.m. Live stats and a webcast are available through the links above or at UIUPeacocks.com/Live. Although attendance is invite-only, fans can grab a game day program at UIUPeacocks.com/Programs. The games will also stream live on the NSIC Network app through Roku and Fire devices, as well as Apple and Android TV.
ROADKILL… Upper Iowa claimed a pair of wins this weekend at Concordia University, St. Paul extending their winning streak to five games. On Friday night, the Peacocks defeated the Golden Bears 84-76 followed by a wire-to-wire 99-74 victory on Saturday. The pair of wins mark Upper Iowa's fifth straight victory and UIU's third consecutive on the road. The Peacocks out rebounded the Golden Bears in both games, 43-40 on Friday and 46-32 on Saturday. UIU also forced double the turnovers they committed over the weekend (36-18).
DUAX DOES IT ALL… Lucas Duax earned the Northern Sun Conference South Division Player of the Week honor after averaging 18.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 4.5 steals and 1.0 blocks per game in a pair of road wins over Concordia University, St. Paul. The redshirt sophomore set three career-highs over the weekend snatching six steals on Friday and wrangling 13 rebounds on Saturday, seven of which came while on offense. Duax also shot 16-of-30 (53.3%) from the field during the series and recorded a double-double (22-13) on Saturday. The Dubuque, Iowa native currently sits in 10th place in the NSIC in points per game with 16.4 and field goal percentage at 51.4% while he has regained the title of the top thief in the NSIC with 28 steals through 12 games.
SENIOR SEND OFF… Graduating seniors Sean Biernacki, Chris Olson, and Jake Zielke will be celebrated prior to Saturday's matchup with the Mavericks. Biernacki has played two seasons for the Peacocks after transferring from Kirkwood Community College. The Camberwell, Australia native has accumulated six points in eight minutes over three games played and was named to the 2019-20 NABC Honors Court during his career at UIU.
Olson spent three seasons in the Peacock blue and white after spending a year at Minnesota State University-Moorhead. The Braham, Minn. native was awarded the 2018-19 Week Three NSIC South Division Player of the Week and was named to the 2019-20 NABC Honors Court during his time in Fayette. Olson tallied 299 points, 85 rebounds, and 75 assists during his sophomore campaign before suffering an injury that has kept him sidelined for the majority of the last two seasons.
Zielke has spent three seasons at Upper Iowa as well. The Freeport, Ill. native has tallied 17 points and 13 rebounds in 41 minutes over 16 career games played. The trio's final game in Dorman Memorial Gymnasium carries postseason implications as UIU currently sits in fourth-place in the NSIC South and will face first-place MSU on Saturday.
SCORES GALORE… In addition to Duax, three other Peacocks scored in double figures in both bouts with the Golden Bears. Jareese Williams had 14 on Friday and 21 on Saturday extending his double-digit scoring streak to 12 straight games. Williams' 34 points between the two games puts him 33 away from cracking the top twenty on Upper Iowa's all-time scoring list. Williams had eight rebounds in each contest bumping his team-high total up to 5.8 per night. The Mason City, Iowa native also matched a career-high with three steals in the first half of Friday's game.
Jake Hilmer scored 15 points on Friday followed by 17 on Saturday. Hilmer had an impact on several aspects of the game as he accumulated seven rebounds, four assists, and four steals during the series. Dylan Jones tallied 16 points on Friday and 12 on Saturday. The sophomore remained a presence in the paint averaging 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per night against CSP.
LAST SEASON'S SWEEP… Minnesota State holds the career series 22-7, but Upper Iowa has won six of the last nine meetings including a pair of wins during the 2019-20 season. The Peacocks most-recently defeated the Mavericks 89-81 in Mankato, Minn. Hilmer, Joe Smoldt, Duax, and Jackson Joens fueled the Peacocks that night combining for 68 points. Earlier on in the season, UIU defeated MSU 92-88 at home in an overtime thriller. Williams, Hilmer, and Duax led the way registering a cumulative 50 points.
MATCHING UP WITH MAVERICKS... Minnesota State is 8-4 on the season, 7-3 in the NSIC and is currently tied for first-place in the NSIC South with Wayne State College. The Mavericks split last weekend's home series with Winona State University suffering a 86-71 loss prior to a commanding 89-64 victory. MSU has four scorers averaging double-digits. Sophomore Quincy Anderson leads the charge with an NSIC fourth-best 18.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. Junior Devonte Thedford is averaging 12.5 points and a team-best 4.1 assists per night, while sophomore Malik Willingham has tallied 11.6 points per contest. The reigning NSIC Freshman of the Year, Ryland Holt is averaging 10.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game as well. Rounding out the Mavericks' starting five is junior Kelby Kramer whose 24 blocks on the year is the league's second-best total. As a team, MSU holds an NSIC fourth-best +7.2 scoring margin and a field-goal percentage 10.6% greater than their opponents.
