FAYETTE, Iowa - Peacock men's basketball (13-3, 8-1 GLVC) heads to Missouri for a pair of GLVC games. UIU plays William Jewell (Mo.) (10-7, 6-3 GLVC) on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and Rockhurst (Mo.) (12-5, 6-3 GLVC) on Saturday at 2 p.m.
LIVE OPTIONS
Fans unable to attend the games in Liberty, Missouri, or Kansas City, Missouri, 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.
LAST TIME OUT
The Peacocks split their last two contests, 1-1. Upper Iowa lost to Quincy (Ill.) (8-8, 3-5 GLVC), 85-66, on Jan. 15 and beat Truman State (Mo.) (7-10, 4-5 GLVC), 91-82, on Jan. 17.
Upper Iowa was unable to slow down Quincy's Ethan Bolton. The freshman scored 38 points, shooting 12-for-14 (85.7%) from the field and added 15 rebounds on the night. Trey Lewis scored a team-high 23 points, shooting 9-for-15 (60%) from the field and 3-for-6 (50%) from the arc for UIU.
Kyle Hrncir had eight points, five rebounds and an assist. Zach Erwin posted seven points, six rebounds and an assist. Forward Ty Pflughaupt recorded seven points, two steals, two assists, a block and a rebound. Freshman Anton Fontin posted five points and two rebounds.
Hrncir led the Peacocks to a bounce-back win against Truman State after scoring 30 points and hauling in 13 rebounds. This marked his ninth double-double of the season. The Farmington native scored 23 of his points in the second half and drew seven fouls in the game. He sealed the win for UIU by scoring the last five points of the game.
Lewis had 17 points, two rebounds, two assists and a steal. Cael Reichter recorded his first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. The freshman added a game-high three steals and an assist.
Jack Miller posted 11 points, five rebounds and three assists. The sophomore scored seven points late in the game to give the Peacocks an 11-point lead with 4:26 left. Fontin had eight points, eight rebounds and a steal. Erwin recorded six points, an assist and a steal.
NABC POLL
Upper Iowa fell out of the top 25 after being ranked No. 22 in last week's National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) poll. UIU still received 15 votes, the 31st most of any team.
GLVC opponent Missouri S&T (13-2, 7-1 GLVC) cracked the top 10 at No. 9 after being ranked No. 12 in last week's poll. McKendree (Ill.) (13-4, 6-3 GLVC) received seven points.
STATISTICS SUMMARY
Forward Hrncir leads UIU in points per game (ppg) with 18.6. He also leads the team in rebounds per game (rpg) with 9.3 and in assists per game (apg) with four.
In the GLVC, Hrncir ranks first in rebounds per game, fourth in assists per game and fifth in points per game. He ranks fifth nationally in double-doubles (nine), 22nd in rebounds per game and 22nd in defensive rebounds per game (6.56).
Lewis is averaging 16 ppg, 2.9 apg, 3.3 rpg and 1.2 spg. He is third in the conference and 30th nationally in free-throw percentage (89.1%). The Johnston native is 14th in assists per game in the GLVC and ninth in 3-point percentage (3.71%).
Miller averages 9.7 ppg, 2.4 rpg and 1.4 spg. Tate Petersen posts 10.1 ppg, 1.4 rpg and 1.2 apg off the bench. Reichter averages 7.6 ppg and five rpg.
Upper Iowa averages 86.1 points per game and has made 487-of-1044 (46.6%) of its shot attempts. The team has also shot 141-for-417 (33.8%) from 3-point range. The Peacocks also average 37.3 rebounds, 16.7 assists and 8.94 steals per game (spg).
In the GLVC, UIU ranks first in assists, second in points per game, second in offensive rebounds per game (12.9) and fifth in rebounds per game. Nationally, Upper Iowa ranks 11th in turnover margin (5.7), 13th in assist/turnover ratio (1.50) and 31st in scoring offense.
1000 POINT WATCH
Hrncir and Lewis are both on their way to reaching 1000 career points. Hrncir has scored 941 points and Lewis has scored 940 points in his career.
AROUND THE GLVC 1000
UIU remains the top team in the conference. Missouri S&T has the second-best record and is on a five game winstreak. Illinois Springfield (7-2, 5-1 GLVC) follows suit, winning its previous matchup with Southwest Baptist (Mo.) (9-8, 3-6 GLVC).
McKendree (13-4, 6-3 GLVC) sits at fourthwon its two previous games against Southwest Baptist and Drury (Mo.) (8-9, 3-6 GLVC). Rockhurst lost its last game to UIndy (8-9, 6-3 GLVC). William Jewell sits at fifth and is on five game winstreak.
The Peacocks are the only team that is unbeaten on the road (3-0) while Missouri S&T (2-0) and Rockhurst (4-0) are the only teams undefeated at home.
Guard Bolton (Quincy) boasted GLVC Player of the Week after his stellar performance against Upper Iowa. On top of his 38 points and 15 rebounds, he set career highs in steals (three) and blocks (three)
ABOUT THE CARDINALS - Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
William Jewell won its last two games. The Cardinals beat Indianapolis, 68-60, on Jan. 15 and Lewis (Ill.) (4-12, 2-6 GLVC) on Jan. 17.
The Peacocks defeated William Jewell, 75-55, on Jan. 25, 2025. Former UIU forward Nick Reid had 22 points and eight rebounds, while former UIU guard Noah King had 16 points. Former William Jewell guard Jordan Jermain had 25 points and six rebounds.
Cardinals guard Justice Sutton scores a team-high 17.5 points per game. Guard Bradley Lightbourne boasts a team-best 5.9 rebounds per game. The redshirt senior also averages a team-high 4.1 assists per game.
William Jewell records 72.1 ppg, 30.9 rpg, 15.18 apg and 8.94 spg. The Cardinals score the 12th most points per game in the GLVC and allow the third fewest points per game (67.2).
Head coach Chris McCabe is in his seventh season with William Jewell and has an overall record of 88-97. McCabe also serves as the Vice President of Athletics at William Jewell.
ABOUT THE HAWKS - Saturday at 2 p.m.
Rockhurst is 1-1 in its last two matchups. The Hawks beat Illinois Springfield, 84-76, on Jan. 15, but fell to UIndy, 89-87, on Jan.17.
Upper Iowa won, 84-71, against Rockhurst on Jan. 23, 2025. Reid posted 32 points and three rebounds, while Hrncir posted 18 points and six rebounds. Former guard Brian Hawthorne had 19 points and five rebounds.
Rockhurst guard Drenin Dinkins leads the Hawks in scoring with 21.8 ppg. Guard Jaylen Wesley is second in scoring with 20.7 ppg. The senior also averages a team-best 2.4 apg and 6.3 rpg.
The team totals 88.8 ppg, 37.9 rpg, 11.29 apg and 7.59 spg. Rockhurst leads the GLVC in scoring and allows the sixth most points in the GLVC.
Kyle Blackbourn is in his second year as the head coach. He has an overall record of 29-17 with the Hawks.
UP NEXT
The Peacocks return to Dorman Gymnasium next week. Upper Iowa squares up with Southwest Baptist on Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. and Drury on Jan. 31 at 3 p.m.
