ST. LOUIS, Missouri - Upper Iowa men's basketball (10-2, 5-0 GLVC) earned its 10th win of the season on Sunday after beating Missouri-St. Louis (9-6, 3-3 GLVC), 79-67. Jack Miller (16 points), Eric Kenesie (12 points), Trey Lewis (12 points), Kyle Hrncir (10 pts) and Tate Petersen (10 points) reach double figures.
UIU outscored the Tritons 14-4 over the first seven minutes of the game. During that stretch, UIU shot 6-of-7 (85.7%) from the field. Lewis and Cael Reichter both highlighted the run with four points each.
UMSL cut the lead to five points with 12:08 remaining, the closest of the game. The Triton's Miles Boland made a layup at 12:58, and then Makeer Makeer converted and an one opportunity on the next possession.
Both teams traded misses over the next minute, until UIU's Miller made a 3-pointer that gave them a 17-9 lead. Upper Iowa then controlled the game, outscoring UMSL 25-21 over the next 11 minutes to take a 42-30 advantage into halftime.
Lewis led the Peacocks during that final stretch of the half with five points. Hrncir and Miller followed him with four points. Petersen, Austin Hilmer and Kenesie scored three points.
In the first four minutes of the second half, Upper Iowa outscored Missouri-St. Louis 16-8. Four minutes into the half, Zach Erwin cut towards the left side of the basket, and Lewis hit him for the and-one layup, where he hit the free throw to lead, 58-38.
Over the next three minutes, the Tritons went on an 11-3 run to close the gap, 61-51. UIU never let UMSL close the gap to single digits. Miller knocked down a 3-pointer to make sure of it, and the Peacocks later used a 7-0 run to take a 71-54 advantage later in the half. This sealed a 79-67 win with Miller scoring seven in the final 12 minutes.
This is the sixth time this season that UIU has won by more than 10 points and is the first time that had five players score in double-figures. The team also shot a season-high 15-of-17 (88.2%) free throws.
Miller scored a team-high 16 points. Kenesie and Lewis had a team second-best of 12 points. Hrncir and Petersen added 10 points.
Hrncir recorded his seventh double-double of the season after he tied his season high in rebounds with 15. He also had four assists, a steal and a block. Lewis dished a team-high seven assists along with three rebounds and an assist.
Reichter scored six points, five rebounds and an assist. Erwin had five points, two assists and a rebound. Anton Fontin posted four points and four rebounds, while Hilmer posted three points, an assist and a steal.
Makeer led Missouri-St. Louis in scoring with 16 points. He also had a team-high seven rebounds. His teammates Jake Hamilton and Vincent Davis III each recorded 14 points.
The Peacocks tied the Tritons, 23-23, in bench points. UIU outrebounded UMSL, 35-34. Missouri-St. Louis scored more points in the paint than Upper Iowa, 44-28.
UIU went 27-for-61 (44.3%) on its shot attempts and 10-for-24 (41.7%) on its 3-point attempts. UMSL was 25-of-55 (45.5%) from the field and 1-of-12 (8.3%) from three.
Upper Iowa hosts two GLVC games at home next week. The team plays UIndy (6-7, 4-1 GLVC) on Thursday, Jan. 8, at 7 p.m. and plays Lewis (Mo.) (4-9, 2-3 GLVC) on Saturday, Jan. 10, at 3 p.m.
