FAYETTE, Iowa - No. 22 Peacock men's basketball (12-2, 7-0 GLVC) aims to remain unbeaten in GLVC play with a pair of home games this weekend. UIU hosts Quincy (Ill.) (7-8, 2-5 GLVC) on Thursday at 7 p.m. and hosts Truman State (Mo.) (6-9, 3-4 GLVC) on Saturday at 3 p.m.
LIVE OPTIONS
Fans unable to attend the games in Fayette can stay connected with a pair of live options available at UIUPeacocks.com/Live, featuring 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.
In addition to GLVCSN.com, viewers can catch the Peacocks on the GLVCSN iOS and Android mobile app, as well as the GLVCSN app on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV.
DIGITAL GAMEDAY PROGRAMS
Fans can access the interactive and digital gameday program any time at UIUPeacocks.com/Programs. The digital programs are available to fans at our games and to those watching at home. QR Codes will be located around the gym to scan with your cell phone's camera, which will link you directly to that game's specific digital gameday program.
TICKET INFORMATION
New this year, tickets for all Peacock home events can be purchased digitally at tickets.uiu.edu. Single game tickets are now available online and at the ticket booth on gameday. If you want to pay in person, both Harms-Eischeid Stadium and Dorman Memorial Gymnasium are now accepting all major credit cards, checks and cash.
LAST TIME OUT
The Peacocks won their last two contests as they beat UIndy (7-8, 5-2 GLVC), 83-78, on Jan. 8 and Lewis (Ill.) (4-10, 2-4 GLVC), 89-72, on Jan. 10.
Upper Iowa secured the win against Indianapolis with the help of redshirt junior forward Kyle Hrncir. He had nine points, four rebounds and two assists during the final eight minutes of the game. The redshirt junior recorded a team-high 19 points and 11 rebounds, adding five assists and three steals.
Senior guard Trey Lewis tied Hrncir for a team-high 19 points in the contest, adding four rebounds and an assist. Freshman forward Cael Reichter recorded 10 points, six rebounds, two steals and an assist. Redshirt freshman guard Eric Kenesie posted 10 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals.
UIU never lost control of the weekend's second game against the Flyers. Reichter was the catalyst for the Peacocks, scoring the first six points of the game and six of the team's final eight.
He totaled a career-high 18 points on a perfect 9-for-9 shooting from the field, while adding three rebounds and a block.
Hrncir had 17 points, six rebounds, six assists and a steal. Lewis posted 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Sophomore guard Jack Miller recorded 10 points, three rebounds and an assist.
NABC POLL
Upper Iowa is ranked No. 22 and received 74 points in Tuesday's National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) poll. The Peacocks moved up three spots from last week's poll.
GLVC opponent Missouri S&T (11-2, 5-1 GLVC) is ranked No. 12 and received 208 points in the latest poll. The Miners were previously ranked No. 16. McKendree (Ill.) (11-4, 4-3 GLVC) received three votes.
STATISTICS SUMMARY
Hrncir leads UIU in points per game (ppg) with 18.5. He also leads the team in rebounds per game (rpg) with 9.4 and in assists per game (apg) with 4.2. This past weekend, Hrncir surpassed 900 career points, with a total of 903.
In the GLVC, Hrncir ranks first in rebounds per game, fourth in assists per game and sixth in points per game. He ranks seventh nationally in double-doubles (eight), 22nd in rebounds per game and 25th in defensive rebounds per game (6.57).
Lewis is averaging 15.4 ppg, three apg, 3.6 rpg and 1.2 spg. He is second in the conference and 37th nationally in free-throw percentage (89.1%). The junior is 13th in assists per game in the GLVC.
Miller averages 10 ppg, 2.2 rpg and 1.5 spg. Petersen posts 10.1 ppg, 1.4 rpg and 1.2 apg off the bench. Reichter averages 7.6 ppg and 4.6 rpg.
Upper Iowa averages 87.2 points per game and has made 429-of-896 (47.9%) of its shot attempts. The team has also shot 132-for-371 (35.6%) from 3-point range. The Peacocks also average 36.6 rebounds, 16.7 assists and 8.8 steals per game.
In the GLVC, UIU ranks second in points per game, third in field goal percentage and third in offensive rebounds per game (12.83). Nationally, Upper Iowa ranks 14th in assist/turnover ratio (1.49), 14th in turnover margin (5.0), 28th in scoring offense, 37th in bench points per game (31.07) and 38th in assists per game.
AROUND THE GLVC
The Peacocks are the only team that is unbeaten in conference play. Illinois Springfield (10-5, 6-1 GLVC) had its first conference loss on Jan. 10 against Truman State, 66-65.
Rockhurst (Mo.) (11-4, 5-2 GLVC) senior guard Jaylen Wesley earned his third GLVC Player of the Week award this season. He averaged 23.5 points, nine rebounds and 4.5 assists in the wins over Missouri-St. Louis (20-7, 4-4 GLVC) and Maryville (Mo.) (2-14, 0-8 GLVC).
ABOUT THE HAWKS - Thursday at 7 p.m.
Quincy lost its last two contests. The Hawks lost, 91-60, to Illinois Springfield on Jan. 8 and lost, 82-76, to UIndy on Jan. 10. They have lost three of their last four games to start the new year.
The Peacocks defeated Quincy in overtime in the GLVC opener this season, 96-92. UIU completed a 16-point comeback while Hrncir scored 31 points and 10 rebounds. The Peacocks used a 20-4 run in the last six minutes of play to help force overtime.
Hawks senior guard Camren Kincaid scores a team-best 15.4 points per game. He scored 29 points in December's matchup. The Springfield native also averages a team-best 3.5 assists per game. Junior forward Jakeb Wallingford hauls in a team-high 6.3 rebounds per game.
QU totals 74.5 points per game, 36.4 rebounds per game and 12.3 assists per game. They rank 10th in both offensive and defensive scoring (75.1 ppg). The team is fourth in rebounding margin (4.5), but 14th in turnover margin (-3.31).
Quincy is coached by second-year head coach Brad Hoyt. He has an overall record of 17-26 with the Hawks.
ABOUT THE BULLDOGS - Saturday at 3 p.m.
Truman St. is 1-1 in its past two games. The Bulldogs lost, 73-62, to McKendree on Jan. 8 and won, 66-65, against Missouri S&T.
UIU won last year's two matchups against the Bulldogs. Former Peacock Nick Reid recorded 24.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg and one spg. Hrncir had 14.5 ppg, nine rpg, 2.5 apg and 1.5 spg.
Sophomore guard Jahki Parrinello leads the Bulldogs in scoring with 16.4. He also averages a team-best 3.2 assists. Senior center Emmanuel Byrd has a team-high nine rebounds per game.
The team averages 76.1 points, 35.7 rebounds and 12 assists. The Bulldogs score the sixth-most points in the GLVC and give up the second-most points (78.2 ppg).
Mike Worley is in his first season as head coach. He previously served as an assistant coach at Division I Troy (Ala.) for 12 years.
UP NEXT
UIU heads to Missouri for its upcoming games. The Peacocks play William Jewell (Mo.) on Thursday, Jan. 22, at 7:30 p.m. and Rockhurst on Saturday, Jan. 24, at 2 p.m.
