WARRENSBURG, Mo. - Upper Iowa men's basketball (2-1) came up short Thursday against Central Missouri (4-2) despite a strong second-half comeback. Kyle Hrncir led the Peacocks with his third double-double of the season with 24 points and 11 rebounds, while Ty Pflughaupt added a career-high 13 points on 3-for-4 shooting from three.
The Peacocks plucked at the Mules' 43-35 halftime lead, outscoring the Mules 23-8 during the first nine minutes of the half, to take the lead, 53-51. UIU forced seven turnovers and outrebounded the Mules by three on the glass, 10-7.
A Zach Erwin layup and an Austin Hilmer layup gave Upper Iowa that 53-51 lead, for their first of the game since the opening seconds. UIU was able to extend its lead to 58-51 midway through the second half off Erwin and Hilmer layups, along with a Tate Petersen three.
Then over the next four minutes, the Mules outscored the Upper Iowa 13-6 to retake the lead, 64-63. Central Missouri maintained control of the game over the next five minutes.
With two minutes left, Petersen hit a jumpshot that ended a minute and a half scoring drought, and Jack Miller buried a 3-pointer at 1:22, cutting the Mule lead to four. After the Mules hit two free throws, Hrncir responded by hitting a 3-pointer from behind the arc and scoring a layup off a UCM turnover to bring the Peacocks within one, 80-79, with 36 seconds left.
After two free throws to extend the lead to three, Trey Lewis had an opportunity to tie the game with a 3-pointer, but missed. Central Missouri's Kyran Tilley came up with a key rebound and hit two crucial free throws after being fouled to give UCM the 84-79 win.
The Mules mustered an early 8-2 run over the Peacocks during the first three minutes of the game. UCM's Tilley, Lazerk, Houston and Jake Fritz scored the first eight points, while Eric Kenesie scored the game's first points.
Upper Iowa first pulled within two at 19-17 off a jumper by Jack Miller at 10:15 in the first half. The Mules gained momentum back and kept their lead until Pflughaupt came into the game and hit back-to-back three-pointers to bring the Peacocks within two again at 31-29 with 4:30 left. The Mules ended the half outscoring UIU 12-6 to take the lead into halftime.
Hrncir recorded his third-straight double-double to open the season after scoring 24 points and hauling in 11 rebounds (seven offensive). He also had three assists and two steals. Pflughaupt posted a career-best 13 points, shooting 3-for-4 from behind the arc.
Lewis and Petersen both ended the game with eight points, while Lewis also added four rebounds, two steals and one assist. Miller had six points, three rebounds, two assists, one block and a career-high five steals. Erwin had six points, four rebounds, two assists and one steal.
Tilley totaled 26 points, five rebounds, two assists and one steal for Central Missouri. He shot 10-for-15 (66.6%) from the field during the contest.
The Peacocks shot 39.7% (29-73) from the field. The Peacocks outscored the Mules, 44-41, in the second half. UIU finished the game outscoring UCM in the paint, 38-34 and 32-12 in bench points.
Upper Iowa will stay on the road and take on Purdue Northwest (0-2) this Saturday at 2 p.m.
