FAYETTE, Iowa - Peacock men's basketball (16-10, 11-8 GLVC) squares up against Lewis (Ill.) (4-22, 2-16 GLVC) on Saturday at 3 p.m. A win over the Flyers solidifies Upper Iowa into the GLVC tournament on March 5-8.
LIVE OPTIONS
Fans unable to attend the game in Romeoville, Ill., 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
UIU dropped both of its contests last week. The Peacocks fell to McKendree (Ill.) (21-5, 14-4 GLVC), 81-76, and Illinois Springfield (17-9, 13-5 GLVC), 82-77.
After battling back and forth throughout the game, McKendree closed the final four minutes with a 7-0 run, forcing overtime and eventually securing the win. Jack Miller led the way with 19 points, shooting 7-of-14 (50%) from the field and 5-of-12 (41.7%) from 3-point range. Trey Lewis also scored 19 points, connecting on 5-of-11 (45.5%) shots from beyond the arc.
Upper Iowa took an early 11-0 lead, but Illinois Springfield controlled the game the rest of the way, building a 38-28 lead late in the first half. Although Upper Iowa rallied in the second half, knotting the game at 70 with four minutes to go, UIS rallied and proved too much for the Peacocks to overcome.
Cael Reichter recorded his third double-double of the year with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Miller mustered 17 points, going 7-for-14 (50%) from the floor and 3-for-6 (50%) from deep. This was the sophomore's fifth straight game with double-digit scoring.
STATISTICS SUMMARY
Kyle Hrncir leads the team with 17.2 points per game (ppg), nine rebounds per game (rpg), 3.9 assists per game (apg) and 1.6 steals per game (spg). Reichter shoots a team-high 60.7% from the field, Tate Petersen shoots a team-high 45.2% from three and Miller shoots a team-high 87.5% from the free-throw line.
Hrncir leads the GLVC in double-doubles. He is second in rpg, sixth in apg, sixth in ppg and eighth in spg. Nationally, the redshirt junior is 13th in double-doubles, 19th in free throw attempts (187), 26th in rebounds per game and 29th in total rebounds (235). Petersen is second in the conference in 3-point percentage.
Miller has scored 15.6 ppg in the last seven games. This has bumped his average to 11.4 ppg this season, along with 2.7 rpg, 1.8 apg and 1.2 spg.
The sophomore guard is shooting 50% from the field this season, ranking eighth in the conference. In conference-only games, he has been even more efficient, connecting on 51.1% of his shots and 39.2% from three-point range, where he ranks eighth and 12th, respectively. Miller also sits 13th in the conference in made three-pointers with 38.
Lewis is averaging 15 points per game, which ranks 18th in the conference. He has also contributed 3.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.1 steals per game this season. His playmaking has stood out, as he ranks sixth in the GLVC in assists per game.
The Johnston native ranks fifth in the conference and 49th nationally in free-throw percentage at 86.6%. In conference play, he is 11th in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.1) and 11th in total assists with 63.
Reichter is averaging 8.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. The freshman ranks 15th in the conference in rebounds per game, 22nd in total rebounds (143) and 20th in total blocks (16). In GLVC play, he has recorded the 12th-most blocks in the conference with 12 and ranks 20th with 6.1 rebounds per game.
Petersen is contributing 10.8 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. He ranks ninth in the conference in total three-pointers made with 56 and is 23rd in free-throw percentage at 76.5%.
AROUND THE GLVC
Rockhurst (Mo.) (21-5, 15-3 GLVC) with a 4.28 rating, McKendree with a 3.64 rating, Illinois Springfield with a 3.89 rating, William Jewell (Mo.) (17-9, 13-5 GLVC) with a 3.97 rating, UIndy (15-11, 13-5 GLVC) with a 3.89 rating and Missouri S&T (18-7, 12-6 GLVC) with a 3.75 rating have all secured spots in the conference tournament. With two spots remaining, Upper Iowa enters the weekend in seventh at 3.26, Truman (Mo.) (12-14, 9-9 GLVC) is in eighth at 3.14 and Missouri-St. Louis (16-12, 10-9 GLVC) is in ninth at 3.11.
The National Association of Basketball Coaches poll moved Rockhurst up four spots to No. 19 with 43 votes. McKendree sits outside of the poll at No. 30 with 14 votes, while William Jewell sits at No. 40 with a vote.
The Midwest Region has Rockhurst in second, William Jewell in eighth, McKendree in ninth and Missouri S&T in 10th. Michigan Tech (20-5) is the No. 1 overall team in the region.
Jaylen Wesley of Rockhurst won GLVC Player of the Week after posting 22 ppg, 7.5 rpg and 3.5 apg in wins over Missouri S&T and Lincoln (Mo.) (11-16, 5-14 GLVC). On the weekend, the Phoenix, Arizona native went 12-of-31 (58%) from the floor, 3-of-8 (38%) from three and 5-of-5 from the free-throw line.
Rockhurst's Drenin Dinkins (22.4 ppg) and Jaylen Wesley (21.3 ppg) are the top two scorers in the conference. Emmanuel Byrd of Truman State leads the conference in rpg with 9.3. Jordan Rice of Illinois Springfield boasts a GLVC-best 5.3 apg, while Shaun Arnold of Indianapolis boasts a GLVC-best 2.7 spg.
Rockhurst leads the GLVC in points per game with 87.7. Lincoln leads the conference in both rebounds per game with 38.5 and blocks per game with 3.63. Rockhurst shoots a GLVC-best 49% from the field, and Illinois Springfield shoots a GLVC-best 37.6% from three.
ABOUT THE FLYERS - Saturday at 3 p.m.
Lewis lost its last two contests. The Flyers lost to Illinois Springfield, 63-58, and UIndy, 74-60.
The Peacocks won the last matchup against Lewis on Jan. 10, 89-72. Reichter scored 18 points, Hrncir scored 17, Lewis scored 16 and Miller scored 10. Arius Arlijosius had 22 points and Cale Cosme had 20 points for the Flyers.
Alijosius is the leading scorer with 18.5 ppg. He is fifth in the conference. Cosme has a team-high 4.4 rpg and team-high 4.4 apg. Reid Loewen makes a team best 54.3% of his field goal attempts.
The team averages 63.1 ppg, 32.1 rpg, 10.5 apg, five spg, and 2.5 bpg. The Flyers score the fewest points in the conference and allow the eighth most points (73.5 ppg). Lewis shoots 41.1% from the field, 31.1% from beyond the arc and 63.9% from the charity stripe.
Nick Rocco is in his ninth season as head coach. In 2019, he led the Flyers to a No. 1 overall seed in the GLVC tournament, a No. 15 ranking in the NABC poll and the GLVC regular-season championship.
