Upper Iowa's men's basketball team posted their third straight win on the road and completed a weekend sweep in North Dakota with an 84-73 win over Minot State University. The Peacocks shot 55.2% from the floor and 47.6% from three while erasing a seven-point halftime deficit to outscore their hosts by 18 points in the second half.
 
The win moved UIU's record to 12-8 overall and 9-5 in the NSIC and kept the team in a four-way tie for first place in the NSIC South. UIU is now 5-1 against the NSIC North this season with two games to go next weekend. Minot State dropped to 9-9 overall and 6-8 in the conference.
 
Nick Reid broke loose for a career-high 27 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. Reid knocked down seven three-pointers and added a block and a steal. Jake Hilmer dropped in 19 points and snared four rebounds, while Dylan Jones scored 16 and hauled in eight boards. Lucas Duax also reached double figures with 13 points; he added three assists and two steals.
 
Camron Dunfee led the Beavers with 18 points, while Ben Bohl scored 13, Jaxon Gunville added 11 and Michael Jok netted 10 points. Khari Broadway scored nine points and handed out five assists.
 
While the Peacock offense caught fire in the second half shooting 62.9% from the floor and 70% from three, the Beavers stuggled hitting only 27% of their second-half attempts and going 3-16 from deep. In the first half, MiSU took advantage of their offensive rebounding and finished the game with the 17-5 upper hand in second chance points.
 
UIU fell behind early, but stayed within reach for most of the first twenty minutes. With six minutes to play in the opening half, Reid hit a three-pointer to cut the margin to one, 26-25, but Minot State outscored their guest 17-7 over the next four minutes thanks to three bullseyes from beyond the arc. Upper Iowa held MiSU to just two points over the final two and a half minutes to shave the lead down to seven, 45-38, behind four points from Jake Hilmer and two from Lucas Duax.
 
A few minutes into the second half, the Peacocks used a 20-6 run that spanned over eight minutes to move from eight points behind to six points ahead, 68-62. The run was highlighted by four three pointers and scores by four different Peacocks including five points from Jackson Foley.
 
An old-fashioned, three-point play by MiSU's Connor Hollenbeck cut UIU's lead to seven, 78-71, with just under three minutes to play, but UIU allowed only two more points to the Beavers down the stretch while extending their lead to as much as 13 points, 84-71, before settling for the 84-73 victory. Reid hit his seventh long-range dagger following the three-point play to take the air out of the gym in Minot.
 
Upper Iowa will return home after their three-win road trip for their final two NSIC cross-division games of the season. The Peacocks will host Minnesota State University Moorhead and Northern State University on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 27-28 in Dorman Memorial Gymnasium for the program's Alumni Weekend.