The Peacock offense was hitting on all cylinders Saturday at the University of Sioux Falls. Upper Iowa snapped a four-game slide with a 95-90 overtime victory over the NSIC South Division's top team in the standings to claim the regular season sweep over USF. With the win, UIU stays within one game of first place in the division standings and climbs back into a tie for third place.
After three straight games of scoring in the 60's, Upper Iowa's offense put 41 points on the scoreboard in the first half, added 40 more in the second and then controlled the overtime period with 14 more to notch their second-highest point total of the season. As a team, the Peacocks converted 50% of their shots from the field and knocked down 7-16 (43.8%) from beyond the arc.
Jake Hilmer led the Peacocks with a new career-high 42 points; the Peacock point guard tallied 41 points a few weeks ago when Upper Iowa upset No. 15 Minnesota State University, Moorhead in Fayette. Hilmer shot 12-25 from the floor including 3-7 from three and took advantage of his time at the free throw line knocking down 15-17. Hilmer stuffed the stat sheet adding seven rebounds and five assists.
Lucas Duax scored 23 points and added five rebounds, three assists and a steal. With the one steal this weekend, Duax has moved into a tie with Kevin Clipperton for the Upper Iowa program-record for career steals with 207.
Nick Reid added 15 points and four rebounds, while
Dylan Jones chipped in five points and five rebounds.
After 15 turnovers in their nine-point loss on Friday night, the Peacocks took care of the ball as Sioux Falls only came away with seven turnovers of Upper Iowa.
Matt Cartwright led the Cougars with 32 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while Kenji Scales posted 20 points and a pair of assists. Jack Thompson and Jake Kettner each netted 11 points for the home team. Kettner grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.
One of the biggest reasons behind Upper Iowa's big win on the road came in the opening 11 minutes. The Peacocks raced out to a 28-12 lead fueled by hot shooting including 10 made field goals with four coming from behind the three-point line. Hilmer led the early push with 12 points, while Reid was pivotal with eight points of his own. UIU forced three turnovers during the opening run and held their hosts to just six makes in their first 14 shots.
The home team clawed back into the game by halftime outscoring Upper Iowa 25-13 over the final ten minutes of the opening frame led by Cartwright's scoring.
A few minutes into the second half, the Peacocks trailed the Cougars 47-44, but UIU launched an 18-5 run knocking down all but one of their eight shots in the outburst including all three three-point attempts with
Jake Hilmer pouring nine points in during the run.
After the Cougars slowly chipped away at the lead,
Lucas Duax calmly stepped to the free throw line with 23 seconds to play and made a pair of free throws to put UIU ahead 81-78. USF's Scales caught a kick-out pass and nailed a three-pointer with two seconds remaining to tie the score and force overtime.
In overtime,
Lucas Duax and
Jake Hilmer each scored six points and the pair each scored around a Cartwright three-pointer to give UIU an 85-84 lead that they never surrendered. Jones gave the Peacocks a three-point lead, 89-86, with a layup after a Reid offensive rebound with just over two minutes to play.
Jumpers by Scales and Cartwright pulled the home team within one, 91-90, with 21 seconds to play, but four free throws from
Jake Hilmer pushed the Peacocks across the finish line with a 95-90 win.
Upper Iowa has two games remaining on the regular season schedule. The Peacocks will travel to St. Paul, Minn. to face the Golden Bears of Concordia University, St. Paul on Thursday, Feb. 16 and then host the Mavericks of Minnesota State University, Mankato on Saturday at 2 p.m. for Senior Day in Fayette.
