The Upper Iowa men's basketball team defeated North Central (MN) in their home opener by a final decision of 104-66. The Peacocks mustered up 60 points in the second half to help yield their success on the hardwood this evening. UIU improved to 4-4 (0-1 GLVC) on the season while NCU fell to 3-5.
 
Noah King netted 22 points on 9-16 shooting to lead all scorers, followed by Jake Hilmer with 21 points, going 7-13 from the field and 3-5 from beyond the arc. 
 
Both teams were even in scoring until ten minutes into the first half. The Peacocks strung together a 9-0 run with contributions from Nick Reid, Hilmer and King to gain a 27-18 lead. Upper Iowa assembled another scoring burst, this time a 7-0 slide, to claim a 44-29 advantage towards the end of the first stanza. The Rams knocked down a three-pointer to bring the score to 44-32 at the conclusion of the first segment. 
 
North Central opened the second half with two straight buckets to close the distance to eight, but the Peacocks responded by outscoring them 22-2 in the next seven minutes to get ahead 66-38. 
 
Reid and William Kiburis contributed to the final score with 13 points apiece, while Kiburis hauled in a team-high eight rebounds and Kyle Hrncir added seven. 
 
Junior Bodden made his first appearance as a Peacock and went 3-3 from the floor in his debut, tallying six points. Junior Mason Murphy saw his second action of the season and recorded six points and two assists. 
 
Upper Iowa shot 87.5% (21-24) from the free throw line, 52.8% (38-72) from the field and 28% (7-25) from long distance.
 
The Peacocks take on Truman State for the second time this season on Saturday at 3 p.m. right here in Fayette at Dorman Memorial Gymnasium.