LEBANON, Ill. - Peacock men's basketball (16-9, 11-7 GLVC) lost a heartbreaker in overtime to McKendree (Ill.) (20-5, 13-4 GLVC) on Thursday night, 81-76. Jack Miller scored 19 points, shooting 7-of-14 (50%) from the field and 5-of-12 (41.7%) from three, and Trey Lewis scored 19 points, shooting 5-of-11 (45.5%) from beyond the arc.
With four minutes left in the game, the Bearcats went on a 7-0 run to send the game into overtime to tie the game at 65-65. McKendree shot 3-for-6 (50%) from the field, while UIU shot 0-for-5 during that stretch.
Caleb Burton hit a 3-pointer seconds into overtime, and Rini Harris drove to the cup to give the Bearcats a five-point advantage. Lewis nailed a 3-pointer, cutting the deficit to three, and later hit another to tie the game at 71-71.
Noah Franklin then converted an and-one to give the Bearcats a 74-71 advantage with 2:20 left in the extra time. UIU had the chance to take the lead down by two points with a pair of 3-pointers, but Burton hit the next bucket to go up by four, and UIU never got within a score again.
After trailing three at half the Peacocks took a 39-38 advantage five minutes into the second half after Tate Petersen and Hrncir buried back-to-back 3-pointers. Upper Iowa extended its advantage with an Austin Hilmer layup, a Lewis 3-pointer and free throws by Anton Fontin to lead, 46-40.
McKendree converted six straight free throws over the next three minutes to trail, 47-46, with 9:57 left in the game. Cha'Vez Woods converted four free throws, while Caleb Burton converted two.
Upper Iowa widened its lead to five a minute later with a Hrncir layup and Miller's three. Hrncir hit another layup to increase the margin to 65-58 with five minutes to go in the game, before McKendree started its final run to tie the game.
Both squads battled back and forth early in the game. The Bearcats went on a 14-3 run 12 minutes in the half to put them up 30-18 with four minutes to go. McKendree was 7-for-10 (70%) from the field, while UIU was 1-for-4 (25%) from the floor during that stretch. Caleb Burton led the Bearcats in scoring with six.
Lewis hit a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to nine. With a minute left, Cael Reichter added two free throws, and Miller drained a 3-pointer to make it a five-point game before Hrncir's buzzer-beater sent UIU into halftime trailing 33-30.
Miller had an assist and a steal along with his scoring totals. Lewis added five rebounds and three assists. Hrncir recorded his 12th double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. The redshirt junior also dished out three assists.
Reichter totaled nine points, five rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block. Petersen posted eight points, three rebounds and an assist. Fontin finished with a team-high four assists and two steals.
Burton boasted a McKendree-high 18 points. Harris had his own double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Noah Franklin scored 12 points, and Andrew Moore scored 11.
The Bearcats outrebounded the Peacocks, 37-29, and outscored the Peacocks in bench points, 28-8. There was a total of eight lead changes, four by each team.
UIU shot 27-for-67 (40.3%) from the floor, 13-for-40 (35%) from three and 8-for-12 (66.7%) from the charity stripe. McKendree was 26-for-51 (51%) from the field, 3-for-15 (20%) on 3-pointers and 26-for-31 (83.9%) from the free-throw line.
The Peacocks are seventh in the GLVC point rating system after the weekend with a 3.31 rating. Upper Iowa is ahead of Truman (Mo.) (11-14, 8-9 GLVC) in eighth with a 3.15 rating, and Drury (Mo.) (13-13, 8-10 GLVC) is in ninth with a 2.97 rating. The top eight teams make the GLVC Tournament.
Upper Iowa faces Illinois Springfield (16-9, 12-5 GLVC) on Saturday at 3 p.m. The Prairie Stars beat Lewis (Ill.) (4-21, 2-15 GLVC), 63-58, on Thursday.
