THE SHORT SCOOP… Upper Iowa pulled off a narrow come-from-behind victory by a 96-94 count over Minnesota State University-Mankato for their sixth-straight win on Friday night. Senior guards Joe Smoldt and Jareese Williams rewrote the Peacocks' record books as the duo entered the top ten and top twenty on the program's all-time scoring list, respectively. Williams also tied a career-high seven made three-pointers in the victory. With the win, Upper Iowa improves to 8-5 overall and 6-3 in the NSIC while Minnesota State falls to 8-5 on the year, 7-4 in conference play. Following the game, the Peacocks propel up to second-place in the NSIC South while the Mavericks drop from first to third in the division.
TURNING POINT… With 7:50 to play, the tables turned in Upper Iowa's favor as a 22-9 run gave the Peacocks the lead for the first time in over 32 minutes. A trio of unanswered trifectas from Williams on three-straight Peacock possessions fueled the stretch that gave UIU a 91-90 advantage with just 1:15 left on the clock. As a unit, Upper Iowa went 8-10 from the field including 4-5 from downtown during the stretch.
In the final minute of play, Upper Iowa and Minnesota State traded bucket for bucket, exchanging the one-point lead back-and-forth three times. With 15 seconds to spare, Dylan Jones tipped out a crucial offensive rebound to Smoldt who subsequently converted a three-point play to put UIU ahead 96-94. The Mavericks' leading scorer Quincy Anderson attempted a potential game-winning three-pointer on the ensuing possession but was met by a pair of Peacock defenders whose presence helped force a miss and secure the victory for Upper Iowa.
HOW IT HAPPENED… Upper Iowa and Minnesota State opened the game going blow for blow in high-scoring fashion. An 11-3 run gave the Mavericks some early separation putting MSU ahead 22-15 with 11:39 to go in the half. Mankato held its lead for the remainder of the period as MSU went into the break up 53-45.
Minnesota State's bench out scored the Upper Iowa reserves 17-2 in the first half while UIU held the advantage 16-4 on the fastbreak. Jake Hilmer had a game-high 11 points at halftime. The Mavericks extended their lead to double-digits following a 10-2 advantage that put MSU up 75-63 with 9:32 remaining. Mankato maintained their 12-point buffer until the 6:50 mark where a treyball from Smoldt began UIU's comeback.
STATS OF THE GAME…
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The Peacocks continued to convert from deep as they connected on 13-28 (46.4%) of their attempts from beyond the arc.
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Upper Iowa went 11-18 (61.1%) from the free throw line, UIU's worst performance at the stripe in a winning effort since November 2019.
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UIU forced 15 turnovers while committing just seven.
PEACOCKS OF THE GAME…
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Williams had a game-high 27 points, a team-high six rebounds, and matched a career-best 7-12 (58.3%) mark from long range.
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Hilmer finished with 22 points on a 9-13 (69.2%) rate from the floor to go along with four rebounds, a pair of assists, and a steal.
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Smoldt tallied 22 points, four rebounds, three steals, and three assists.
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Lucas Duax registered 12 points, four rebounds, two steals and two assists.
UP NEXT… The encore is set to take place on Saturday, Feb. 13 at 2 p.m.
