No. 13/16 Upper Iowa battled back from a double-digit deficit in the first half to take two nine-point leads in the second half including one with less than five minutes to play at Winona State University on Sunday. Unfortunately, the Warriors clawed back to tie the game and force overtime where the home team controlled the scoring to win 73-68. The loss, just UIU's second on the season, pushed the Peacocks to 12-2 overall and 6-2 in the Northern Sun. WSU improved to 7-4 overall and 3-3 in the conference.
 
Upper Iowa struggled shooting the ball in the first half and overtime converting just 12 of their 38 shots, but the team knocked down 51.5% (17-33) of their shots in the second half. For the game, the Peacocks had to battle a physical Warrior defense, but only attempted seven free throws.
 
­Jake Hilmer led the Peacocks with 21 points, while Joe Smoldt and Nick Reid each added 11 points. Lucas Duax scored eight points and dished out three assists but was limited to 16 minutes due to foul trouble. UIU also lost leading scorer Jareese Williams at halftime due to an injury suffered while falling after a block on the first half's final shot.
 
UIU's defense played well in the game holding the Warriors to just 65 points in regulation, but Winona State took advantage of nine more opportunities at the free throw line knocking in 13-16 to edge the Peacocks by five.
 
Winona State held a 28-15 lead with just over four minutes to play in the first half, but UIU closed the half on a 12-5 run to pull within six at the break, 33-27. The run featured scores by four different Peacocks including four from Smoldt and three-pointers from Williams and Reid.
 
Upper Iowa came out of the locker room fired up and took it to the home team with another 12-2 run to erase the WSU lead and grab a four-point advantage themselves. Both Hilmer and Lucas Duax converted a pair of shots and Reid nailed another three to put UIU ahead 39-35.
 
After the score was tied at 43-43, UIU took control over a nine-minute stretch that saw the road team make 9-14 from the field including a pair of three-pointers to take a 63-54 lead. A three-pointer by Reid with 4:46 showing on the clock ended the run and put Upper Iowa ahead by nine.
 
UIU came up empty on four straight trips, while Winona State raced back into a tie, 63-63, fueled by a 9-0, two-minute run. Hilmer ended the drought for Upper Iowa with a layup with a minute and a half to play, but two free throws on Winona State's next possession tied the game at 65-65 again. UIU missed their final shot of regulation and the game moved to overtime.
 
Connor Duax scored the first points in the five-minute overtime more than a minute into the game to put UIU ahead 66-65. Neither offense could gain traction in the overtime period as UIU held their one-point lead inside of two minutes to play. After a WSU free throw, Max Duax put UIU back on top 68-66 with a layup.
 
Devin Whitelow put the Warriors on his back on the next two possessions with a three-pointer and a layup on back-to-back trips to push WSU ahead 71-68. UIU missed a three-pointer with nine seconds to play and the home team converted their final two free throws after rebounding the miss to secure the five-point win.
 
The victory for Winona State was their second over a Top 25 program this season having defeated No. 17 Minnesota State University, Mankato back in late November.
 
Upper Iowa will stay on the road next weekend as they look to return to their winning ways with games at the University of Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State University on Jan. 7-8.