Upper Iowa men's basketball succumbed to Lewis University 86-76 in the semifinals of the GLVC Championship Tournament. The Peacocks didn't hold a lead at any point, and found themselves playing from behind and trying to combat the offensive output from Lewis. 
 
J. Hilmer became Upper Iowa's all-time assists leader as he passed the previous mark of 610 assists in a career, set by Kevin Clipperton (1993-97). 
 
Nick Reid and Kyle Hrncir notched a double-double as Reid led the team in points with 18 and hauled in 11 rebounds, while Hrncir contributed 11 points on 5-8 shooting and nabbed 11 boards.  Hilmer and Noah King trailed behind Reid on the stat sheet with 14 points apiece. 
 
The Flyers outrebounded the Peacocks 45-29 and held the edge in paint points 42-28. 
 
Lewis jumped out to an early 12-4 lead before Caleb Delzell hit a three to cut into the deficit and trail 12-7. The Flyers went on an 8-2 run from there to hold an 11-point advantage. Ethan Steinbronn provided lift off the bench as he created a defensive presence underneath the rim and converted a layup and a free throw to put a halt to the opponent's run. 
 
Upper Iowa struggled to connect in the first seven minutes as they shot 25% from both three-point land and field goal range, while Lewis shot 60% from floor and 50% beyond the arc.
 
The team's leading scorer J. Hilmer was held scoreless until there were five minutes remaining in the first after he sank a pair of free throws and pulled the Peacocks within seven. 
 
The Peacocks went on an 8-0 run to close the half, highlighted by a halfcourt heave at the buzzer from Austin Hilmer to cut the Flyer's lead to three (35-32). 
 
The two teams traded baskets until Lewis went on a 15-3 run to take the 65-52 lead. The Peacocks fell behind 72-57 before outscoring the Flyers 9-3, bringing their deficit to single digits. 
 
LU extended to their largest lead of the night (86-70) with just over a minute of play, punching their ticket to the championship game. 
 
After being ranked fifth in the last NCAA Midwest Region, the Peacocks await the 2024 NCAA Division II men's basketball championship field, which will be revealed during an NCAA.com selection show on March 10 at 10 p.m. CST.