Upper Iowa men's basketball flourished under the lights of the O'Reilly Family Event Center to a double-digit finish over the Drury Panthers. The 84-73 win lifted the Peacocks to a 14-5 mark in the conference and a 19-8 overall record.
Jake Hilmer led the Peacocks with 19 points on 7-14 shooting alongside seven rebounds and a team-high of five assists.
Nick Reid hauled in eight rebounds and contributed 13 points.
Kyle Hrncir added 13 points and seven rebounds and three steals.
The blue and white trailed the home team for over half of the opening stanza, seeing their largest deficit of 17-11 with just over ten minutes remaining.
Christian Haffner came off the bench and netted a pull up jumper and deep three-point shot to help pull UIU out of the hole. A long-range basket from the Panthers in response put them back up by four, but a 9-2 run by the Peacocks put them up 25-22 for their first lead of the game.
Upper Iowa gained momentum as they took two back-to-back charges, followed by an and-one play from
Nick Reid prior to the buzzer signaling the intermission. The Peacocks led the charge 42-39 behind a 52% shooting effort from the field and 33% from long distance. Drury converted 41% from the field and 28% behind the arc in the first half.
The Peacocks maintained control for the entirety of the second half, as they opened the second period with five straight points behind a Reid layup and
Caleb Delzell three-point basket to give them an extra push for the eight-point lead.
The visitors reached their double-digit advantage (64-54) on a three-point bomb from
Austin Hilmer, following Reid's shot from downtown from the possession before. The Panthers came no closer than a five-point difference for the remainder of the contest, with the final score of 84-73 their largest deficit of the game.
Upper Iowa finished the game shooting 50% from the floor and 34.6% from deep. Drury converted 41.8% from the field and 26.9% from downtown.
The Peacocks play their last game of the regular season on Saturday at 3 p.m. against the Southwest Baptist Bearcats in Bolivar, Mo.
