The Peacock men's basketball team proved once again that they are one of the teams to beat in the Northern Sun Conference with an 84-78 upset of No. 15 Minnesota State University Moorhead in Dorman Memorial Gymnasium on Friday night. Upper Iowa handed the Dragons their first loss to a NSIC South Division team behind a sensational shooting display from point guard Jake Hilmer, Nick Reid and Lucas Duax. UIU improves to 13-8 overall and 10-5 in the NSIC and remains tied with the University of Sioux Falls for first place in the division. MSU Moorhead falls to 17-4 overall and 12-3 in conference play.
 
The trio of Hilmer, Reid and Duax combined for 74 points and made 28 field goals including 10 three-pointers while shooting 59.6% from the floor and 58.8% (10-17) from three. Hilmer scored a career-high 41 points including 28 points in the second half behind 14 makes, seven of which were three-pointers, and added three assists. The 40-plus point total hadn't been touched by a Peacock since Joey Woods poured in 40 points at MSU Moorhead on Jan. 31, 2014.
 
Reid posted another double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Duax was a huge part of UIU's rally in the first half and scored 14 points, pulled down six rebounds and added two assists and two steals. Duax slowed down an explosive Lorenzo McGhee in the second half after the Dragon star torched UIU for 22 points in the opening half.
 
McGhee led the Dragons with 31 points in the game and snared six rebounds. Jacob Beeninga scored 18 and handed out four assists, while Gavin Baumgartner notched 15 points and nine rebounds and Dane Zimmer had eight points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
 
After the Dragons shot nearly 46% in the first half, Upper Iowa's defense challenged the shooters and scrambled out of help situations to force the MSUM shooters to post just a 38% shooting percentage in the second half. Both teams took care of the basketball during the game; each squad only registered six turnovers.
 
UIU got behind 9-2 in the early going, but an 8-2 run brought the Peacocks back within one point six minutes into the game. The early run was highlighted by six points on hard-driving lay ups from Duax. The two teams battled to gain momentum throughout the first half, but neither team could string more than a couple baskets together. UIU trailed 40-36 with a minute and a half to play when Hilmer and Duax combined to score the final four points and send the teams to their locker rooms knotted at 40-all.
 
From his last shot of the first half through the 11:16 mark of the second half, Hilmer converted nine-straight field goals including 6-6 from beyond the arc… and some were way beyond the arc. During the ten-minute run, the North Linn prep paced the Peacocks to outscore their guests 32-15 fueled by his 24 points.
 
While Hilmer was lighting up the scoreboard on the offensive end, the Peacocks were playing solid defense and limiting the Dragons to one opportunity per possession. Led by the defense and rebounding of Duax and Reid, as well as key minutes from Jackson Foley and Austin Hilmer, Upper Iowa was able to distance themselves from MSU Moorhead at the midway point of the second half.
 
The high-powered Dragons began to fight back and cut the margin to five, 70-65, thanks to a 10-2 run of their own. UIU's advantage continued to yo-yo back and forth between five and 10 points over the final minutes. A lay up by McGhee with 18 seconds to play put MSUM down by just three, 78-75, but Hilmer knocked down four straight free throws to end the threat and push the Peacocks to an 84-78 victory.
 
Upper Iowa will host the Wolves of Northern State University on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 3:30 p.m. If weather becomes an issue, fans should be prepared to catch the webcast online, stream the game, or watch the game on KCRG 9.2.