THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK MEN'S HOOPS
Peacock men's basketball opens action in 2025 with two GLVC opponents as they welcome Missouri-St. Louis on Friday at 7 p.m. and Maryville on Sunday at 3 p.m. UIU heads into the weekend with an 8-3 mark on the year and a 2-1 conference record.
LIVE OPTIONS
Fans unable to make it to Fayette this weekend for the games can stay connected with a pair of live options at
UIUPeacocks.com/Live, with access to live stats and a pay-per-view webcast through GLVCSN. Fans can also refer to the links attached to this story for all live options.
LAST TIME OUT
Before the holiday break, the team traveled to the Windy City to round out their slate of games in 2024, challenging Roosevelt for the second time this season. The Peacocks cruised to a dominant 102-82 victory.
Nick Reid led the Peacocks with 35 points and 13 rebounds while showcasing an impressive 8-for-15 from three-point range.
Gavin Hershberger contributed 24 points, while
Ryan Heise added 26 points. Upper Iowa shot an efficient 44.4% (32-72) from the field and a scorching 44.7% from beyond the arc (17-38).
Reid, Hershberger and Heise each recorded their career-highs in the win.
REID EARNS SECOND PLAYER OF THE WEEK AWARD
Nick Reid reeled in the GLVC Player of the Week Award for the second time this season following the 102-82 victory over Roosevelt.
The graduate forward netted a career-high 35 points, the most single-game points across the league this season. He shot 43% (10-23) from the field, including a 53% clip (8-15) from long distance and went 7-7 from the charity stripe.
MCKOWEN BECOMES ALL-TIME WINS LEADER
The Peacocks' win over the Lakers marked
Brooks McKowen's 196th career win, making him the program's all-time winningest coach.
The previous record was held by Bill Prochaska (195 wins), who coached the men's basketball squad at Upper Iowa from 1971-1992.
FRONT OF THE PACK
Nick Reid leads the GLVC in two statistical categories: rebounding, with 9.6 boards per game and scoring, with an average of 20.3 points per contest. The forward has notched four double-doubles this season and ranks seventh in NCAA DII in defensive rebounds per game with eight.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
UMSL sits at 5-6 on the year and 3-1 in the GLVC, with conference victories over Illinois Springfield (69-64), Maryville (83-53) and Indianapolis (66-59). Their only league loss was to Lewis, 81-61. The Tritons are second in the league defensively, holding their opponents to 66 points per game. They are at the bottom of the list in scoring offense, putting up 63.5 per contest.
Maryville is 5-7 overall and 1-3 in league play. Their one conference win was over Indianapolis (69-59), but they have come up short against McKendree (77-64), UMSL (83-53) and Illinois Springfield (78-71). The Saints have four scoring in double figures, led by Keyyaun Batchman with 13.8 points per contest.
ON DECK
Men's basketball is on the road next weekend, as they challenge Lewis in Romeoville, Ill. on Thursday, Jan. 9, and Indianapolis on Jan. 11 in Indianapolis, Ind.
