The No. 20/22 Peacock men's basketball team scored another win at home on Friday night posting a 77-62 win over Minot State University. The win improved Upper Iowa's record to 18-3 overall and 12-3 in the Northern Sun, while Minot State dropped to 12-5 overall and 6-5 in the conference. Upper Iowa scored 44 points in the opening half and built on their advantage in the second half to claim the 15-point victory.
 
Joe Smoldt led all scorers with 27 points while shooting 10-18 from the floor, 3-8 from deep and 4-4 at the free throw line. Jake Hilmer added 13 points, while Connor Duax came off the bench to score 10 and grab seven rebounds. Lucas Duax netted nine points, while Nick Reid and Dylan Jones each chipped in seven points. Reid grabbed a team-high nine rebounds as well.
 
Camron Dunfee led the Beavers with 20 points and seven rebounds, while Max Cody added 13 points and a pair of assists.
 
Upper Iowa's defense was physical and shared the foul load to keep most players out of trouble. Several Peacocks drew an assignment on the reigning NSIC North Division Player of the Week Melvin Newbern, who was limited to seven points on 3-8 shooting. Newbern hit the glass hard though with a team-high eight rebounds.
 
The 62 points allowed to the Beavers was a new season-low for the Peacock defense and seventh time this season that the opponents scored below 70 points. Upper Iowa forced 13 turnovers and 42.1% shooting from the MiSU offense including 21.4% (3-14) from behind the arc. UIU was also a plus-four in rebounds (36-32) on the night. Cade Moritz defended the rim with four of the team's five blocks, while three Peacocks each had two of the team's seven steals.
 
Four minutes into the game, the Peacocks held a slim 10-9 advantage, but the Beavers used a 9-1, two-minute run to establish a seven-point advantage behind scores from four different players. Minot State held their seven-point advantage for a few minutes and a bucket in the paint gave the visitors a 22-15 lead at the 11:31 mark.
 
Upper Iowa launched an 18-0 run over the next five minutes to not only erase the seven-points, but to take an 11-point lead, 33-22. The run was highlighted by five players that combined to shoot 8-11 led by Smoldt's six and Hilmer's four points. UIU's defense picked it up a notch during the run forcing their guests to miss all six shots from the field. The Peacocks pushed their lead to a high-mark of 13 points before settling for a 12-point cushion at halftime, 44-32.
 
A lay up by Cody Dwyer cut the gap to eight, 50-42, four and a half minutes into the second half, but Upper Iowa answered with a 9-0 run to set a margin of seventeen points, 59-42, midway through the half. Smoldt scored seven of the nine points during the run. A Reid three-pointer from the top of the key pushed the lead to 68-48, but Minot State kept pushing back. The Beavers cut the lead to 10 points, 72-62, with two minutes to play, but the Peacocks converted an old-fashioned three-point play and a pair of free throws to secure the 77-62 win.
 
Upper Iowa will get right back on the hardwood in Dorman Memorial Gymnasium on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. The Peacocks will line up against the Marauders of the University of Mary in the final NSIC cross-division game of the regular season.