FAYETTE, Iowa - Peacock men's basketball (11-2, 6-0 GLVC) held on to beat UIndy (6-8, 4-2 GLVC), 83-78, on Thursday. Forward Kyle Hrncir had 19 points and 11 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season.
Hrncir was clutch for UIU down the stretch. He scored seven points, hauled in four rebounds and found Eric Kenesie twice for key buckets. Leading 64-61, Hrncir found Kensie through a double-team for a 3-pointer. A play later, he grabbed a defensive rebound and converted it to a layup at the other end with six minutes to go for the eight-point advantage.
That was one of two huge threes for Kenesie in the closing moments. He drilled his second with 1:20 left to lead, 76-70. This helped Upper Iowa maintain the two-score lead and win, 83-78.
UIndy outpaced the Peacocks, 7-0, over the first 2:33 of the game. Upper Iowa turned the ball over four times during that stretch.
The Peacocks answered over the next 1:07 with an 8-0 run of their own. Cael Reichter was the catalyst of this run after he stole the ball from Indianapolis's Shaun Arnold and dished the ball to Trey Lewis for a 3-pointer on the other end. Reichter scored five points during the run and converted an and-one opportunity at 17:20 to give UIU its first lead of the night.
Both Upper Iowa and UIndy battled back and forth until 12:58, when Jack Miller made a 3-pointer that gave the Peacocks the 17-14 advantage over the Greyhounds.
UIU controlled the rest of the half, getting a 40-29 lead at 2:12 after a Tate Petersen 3-pointer and an old-fashioned 3-point play by Zach Erwin. However, UIndy closed the half on a 7-0 run to cut the halftime deficit to 40-36.
The Peacocks maintained their lead out of the break, leading 49-44 after five and a half minutes. The Greyhounds then went on a 7-0 swing to take a 51-50 lead with 13 minutes to go. However, that lead would not last long.
The following possession, Erwin knocked down a three from the top of the key. After UIndy reclaimed the lead at 58-57, Trey Lewis knocked down another trey to reclaim it. This helped the Peacocks maintain the lead throughout the rest of the half.
Not only did Hrncir have a double-double, he also added team-highs with five assists and three steals. Lewis tied Hrncir for a team-high in points with 19. He also totaled four rebounds, an assist and a steal.
Reichter had 10 points, six rebounds, two steals and an assist. Kenesie posted 10 points, four assists, three rebounds, two steals and a block. Miller scored eight points, while Erwin scored seven.
Guard Tyler Parrish led UIndy in scoring with 16, followed by center Kelvin Amoako with 15. Amoako, a 6-foot-11 center, led the team in rebounds with eight and in blocks with four. Forward Arnold had a team-high six steals.
There were a total of 42 fouls and nine lead changes in the game. Upper Iowa had 19 fouls, and Indianapolis had 23. The Peacocks outrebounded the Grehounds, 39-37. Both teams scored 36 points in the paint.
As a team, UIU shot 28-of-65 (43.1%) from the floor, 10-of-30 (33.3%) from 3-point land and 17-of-26 (65.4%) from the free-throw line. UIndy shot 30-of-62 (48.4%) from the field, 8-of-26 (30.8%) from beyond the arc and 10-of-16 (62.5%) from the charity stripe.
Upper Iowa plays in Dorman Gymnasium on Saturday against Lewis at 3 p.m. The Flyers most recently lost McKendree (11-3, 4-2 GLVC), 68-44, on Jan. 4 after having a bye on Thursday.
