The No. 16/18 Peacock men's basketball team used a balanced scoring attack that saw five hit double figures and all eight UIU players scored at least six points to race away with a 108-95 win at home over St. Cloud State University on Friday night in Fayette. The win pushed UIU's record to 15-2 overall and 9-2 in the Northern Sun, while SCSU dropped to 8-7 overall and 4-4 in conference action.
 
Upper Iowa had all five starters in double figures in the scoring column led by Jake Hilmer's 24 points and Joe Smoldt's 21 points. The pair combined to hit nine of the team's 13 three-pointers. Smoldt added nine assists, while Hilmer handed out five and grabbed three steals.
 
Dylan Jones scored 15 points and added six rebounds, while Nick Reid posted another double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Lucas Duax was the fifth Peacock with double figures at 14 points. Connor Duax (8), Max Duax (7) and Cade Moritz (6) combined to score 21 points off the bench for the home team.
 
Caleb Donaldson scored a game-high 31 points to lead St. Cloud State and added five rebounds and six assists. Matthew Willert scored 22 points, while Anthony Roberts scored 14 for the Huskies.
 
The Huskies jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead, but an 8-0 run for the Peacocks put the home team ahead 10-7 four minutes into the game. The quick run was fueled by four points from Lucas Duax around the basket. Midway through the first half, SCSU took a 28-27 lead after a thunderous dunk from Roberts out of a media timeout. The lead didn't stay with the Huskies for long though as Upper Iowa launched a 13-4 run highlighted by three trifectas including a pair from the right hand of Reid. By the end of the run, UIU led 40-32 with six and a half minutes to play.
 
After the visitors pulled within one, 42-41, the Peacocks began to reestablish their advantage by outscoring their guests 11-4 over the final three and a half minutes. The run was built on three more long-range makes including two from Hilmer and sent UIU to the locker room with a 53-45 lead.
 
Upper Iowa extended their advantage during the first five minutes of the second half. After the 11-4 run to close the first half, UIU then outscored SCSU 13-5 in the opening five minutes to increase the margin to 16 points, 66-50. The second half run opened with a dunk from Jones and featured scores from five different players.
 
At the midway point of the half, a pair of back-to-back buckets from the Huskies brought the difference into single digits, 82-73, but the Peacocks answered with a 10-3 run to push the advantage back to 15 points, 92-77. Smoldt knocked down two of his five three-pointers during the run that ended with six and a half minutes to play. Over the final five and a half minutes of the game, the Peacocks knocked down two shots from the field, but converted all 12 of their free throws to maintain their double-digit lead and secure the 13-point win, 108-95.
 
Upper Iowa will host the No. 5/6 Bulldogs of the University of Minnesota Duluth on Saturday, Jan. 15 in Fayette. The battle of the NSIC South and North Division leaders is set for a 3:30 p.m. tip in Dorman Memorial Gymnasium. UMD defeated Winona State University on Friday night to remain undefeated at 16-0 on the season and 9-0 in the NSIC.