FAYETTE, Iowa - Peacock men's basketball (2-0) aims to stay unbeaten in Missouri and Indiana this weekend. The team squares off against Central Missouri (3-2) on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. and then plays Purdue Northwest (Ind.) (0-2) on Saturday at 2 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT
Last Friday, Upper Iowa defeated Wisconsin-Parkside (1-1), 78-69, to earn its first win in the Casey Kasperbauer era. After trailing 35-34 at halftime, the Peacocks went on a 12-4 run during the first five and a half minutes of the second half and then eventually outscored Parkside, 44-34.
UIU played against Roosevelt (Ill.) (0-2) on Saturday and won, 88-76. Upper Iowa came out firing after halftime once again, outscoring the Lakers 23-9 in the first 10 minutes of the second half.
Kyle Hrncir recorded two double-doubles over the weekend. He averaged 14.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.5 steals. Trey Lewis played solid for the Peacocks as well, averaging 14 points, 3.5 rebounds, three assists and 2.5 steals.
Tate Petersen played solid minutes for Upper Iowa, averaging 21.8 minutes per game off the bench and shooting 63.6% from behind the arc (7-11). He averaged 15 points, three rebounds, and one assist.
STATISTICS SUMMARY
Through their two road games, the Peacocks have averaged 83 points and shot 59-for-130 (45.4%) from the field. Upper Iowa scored a combined 82 second-half points, outscoring the Rangers and Lakers 82–64 after halftime.
The team averages 39 rebounds per game with a +12 margin throughout both contests. UIU also averaged 15 assists per game.
Offensively, UIU is second in scoring, leads the conference in both offensive rebounds per game with 15, and assists per game with 15. Defensively, Upper Iowa ranks first in the GLVC in steals per game with nine.
Hrncir leads the GLVC in rebounds per game, while Lewis is fifth in steals per game. Hrncir is also first nationally in double-doubles and 13th in rebounds, while Petersen is 23rd in 3-point percentage. The team as a whole is 20th nationally in rebound margin.
AROUND THE GLVC
Last week, Illinois Springfield competed in the Midwest-Crossover and beat Roosevelt, 88-56, but lost to Parkside, 77-95. Its leading scorer was Jordan Rice, who averaged 25.5 points per game.
The only GLVC team ranked in the top 25 is No. 8 Missouri S&T (1-0), who defeated Kentucky Wesleyan last week, 68-56 (1-1). Indianapolis also beat the Panthers last week, 73-67.
This past weekend, Quincy (Ill.) (1-1) and Truman State (Mo.) both played No. 23 Findlay (2-0). The Oilers defeated the Bulldogs on Friday, 103-79 and then beat Quincy in a nail-biter, 75-74.
Jaylen Walker of Rockhurst took home the first GLVC Player of the Week. Walker was the star in the Hawks' 82-72 win vs Davenport (1-1) and 85-78 win over Purdue Northwest. He averaged 20.5 ppg, eight rpg, three apg and three spg.
ABOUT THE MULES - Thursday 5:30 p.m
Last weekend, Central Missouri competed in the Central Region Challenge in Pittsburg, Kansas. On Friday, the Mules faced Minnesota State (4-1) and lost, 81-63. Then, on Saturday, they squared off against Sioux Falls (S.D.) (0-2) and won, 82-77.
The team has played five total games, and through those five games, its leading scorer has been Lazerek Houston with an average of 21.8 points per game, followed by Jevon Hill with 15.6 points per game. Jake Fritz shoots 61.5% (8-13) from three. Houston averages the most assists with 4.4 per game, and Hill averages the most rebounds with 4.6 per game.
Head Coach Adam Bohac is in his 25th season with the Mules, boasting a record of 315-148 throughout his tenure.
ABOUT THE PRIDE - Saturday 2 p.m.
Purdue Northwest competed last Friday and Saturday in the GLIAC/GLVC Crossover in Liberty, Missouri. The Pride lost their first game against William Jewell (Mo.) (1-1), 79-66, and lost their second game against Rockhurst, 85-78.
The leading scorer for the Pride is Davontae Hall with 13.5 ppg. Kyle Ross is slightly trailing Hall with 13.5, but posts a team-best 7.5 rpg. When it comes to assists, Garrett Clark averages a team-high 2.5 assists.
First-year head coach Jordan Ashton is seeking his first win. He previously coached at NAIA school William Woods (Mo.), where he led the program to a record-setting 29-3 record last season.
UP NEXT
The Peacocks play their first home game on Friday, Nov. 28, at 1 p.m. against Minnesota Crookston (0-2).
