FAYETTE, Iowa - Upper Iowa men's basketball (4-1) defeated Minnesota Crookston (1-4) 96-81 on Friday afternoon inside Dorman Gym. Trey Lewis led Upper Iowa in scoring with 22 points, followed closely by 21 points from Kyle Hrncir.
The Peacocks led for 38:32 of game time, but Minnesota Crookston trimmed a 20-point deficit down to six with 8:26 to go. Upper Iowa then made a run of its own, outscoring the Golden Eagles 12-4 over the next five minutes.
After scoring from the free-throw line the possession before, Lewis drove downhill with 3:39 to play. This time around, he found Eric Kenesie, who made the extra pass to Tate Petersen for an open three, effectively ending the game and giving the Peacocks a commanding 83-69 lead.
The Peacocks found themselves out on the front foot early on against Minnesota Crookston, jumping out to a 15-6 lead in the first six minutes. Hrncir, the reigning GLVC Player of the Week, scored eight of the Peacocks' first 15 points.
Hrncir moved his tally up to 14 first-half points just before the end of the first half, as the Peacocks led 48-36 at the intermission. In the opening 20 minutes, the Peacocks hit 17-of-36 (47.2%) shot attempts and knocked down five three-pointers, holding the Golden Eagles to 13-of-32 (40.6%) from the field.
Upper Iowa was hot out of the gates after halftime, going on a 15-7 run to extend the lead to 20 points. Back-to-back three-pointers from Cael Reichter and Jack Miller with 16:58 left produced the largest lead of the afternoon, 63-43.
Usually flying at a high pace, the Peacocks slowed down the Golden Eagles' attack late in the game, leaning on three-pointers from Petersen, Miller and Kenesie to salt the game away late.
Lewis' 22 points came on marks of 6-of-9 (66.7%) from the field and 8-of-9 (88.9%) from the free-throw line. He added three rebounds and a team-high five assists in his Dorman Gym debut.
Hrncir finished 8-of-15 (53.3%) from the field, tallying 21 points and coming up a rebound shy of a double-double. Petersen added 17 points, hitting three three-pointers and going 8-of-10 (80%) from the free-throw line. Miller's 16 points on a 7-of-10 (70%) shooting performance rounded out the group of Peacocks in double figures.
Minnesota Crookston was led in scoring by Donez Lindsey and Alijah Washington, each finishing with 17 points. Lindsey shot 6-of-13 (46.2%) from the floor and secured five rebounds. Washington shot 8-of-10 (80%) from the field and grabbed eight rebounds.
The Peacocks finished the game shooting 31-of-65 (47.7%) from the field, 12-of-27 (44.4%) from behind the arc and 22-of-30 (73.3%) from the charity stripe. The Golden Eagles were 31-of-71 (43.7%) from the field, 7-of-22 (31.8%) on 3-pointers and 12-of-18 (66.7%) on free throws.
Upper Iowa forced 10 turnovers off the Golden Eagles and had 11 fast-break points on the afternoon. A quartet of Peacocks had season-high tallies in the scoring column in the win, as Lewis, Petersen, Miller and Kenesie all delivered their best offensive outings of the year.
GLVC play begins for the Peacocks on Monday, Dec. 1, at 7:30 p.m. in Quincy, Illinois, against the Quincy Hawks (3-2). Upper Iowa will next take the floor inside Dorman Gym on Dec. 4 at 7:30 p.m. against Lincoln (MO) (3-1).
