ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - Peacock men's basketball concluded its regular season with an emphatic, 81-60 win over Lewis (Ill.) (4-24, 2-18 GLVC). Kyle Hrncir recorded his 13th double-double of the season with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
With the win, the Peacocks clinched a spot in the GLVC Tournament. Upper Iowa is the seventh seed, set to face second-seed William Jewell (Mo.) on Thursday at 7:45 p.m. at the Mark Twain Building in St. Louis.
After trailing 33-30 at halftime, Drew Fisher drilled two free throws thirty seconds into the half to have his team trail by one. Two and a half minutes later, Ryan Hall knocked down a trey to put the Flyers up, 39-38. However, Cael Reichter hit a layup on the other end to put the Peacocks back out in front.
UIU then went on a 9-0 run, shooting 3-for-3 over the next two minutes to increase the lead to eight. Jack Miller knocked down a three before Hrncir converted an and-one, giving the Peacocks a 53-41 lead with 14:38 to go.
Upper Iowa controlled the next 10 minutes, increasing its lead to 14 at one point, before Fisher hit a 3-pointer, cutting UIU's advantage to 66-57. Lewis remained within striking distance until Reichter knocked down a jumpshot to increase Upper Iowa's lead to 74-60 with two and a half minutes left in the game.
This ignited a final 9-0 run by the Peacocks. William Spielbauer swished a three at the end of the run, giving UIU an 81-60 victory.
Lewis jumped out to an 11-4 lead five and a half minutes into the game. Upper Iowa went on a 7-0 stretch over the next three minutes to knot the score. UIU shot 3-of-4 (75%) from the field while forcing two turnovers, and Tate Petersen made a 3-pointer.
The Flyers and Peacocks battled back and forth throughout the first half, with Lewis eventually taking a 28-24 advantage with four minutes to go. The Peacocks finished the half on a 9-2 run with Cael Reichter scoring the final four points and Lewis turning the ball over three times.
Hnrcir led the team with 15 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and three steals. Miller totaled 15 points, going 3-of-7 (42.9%) from deep, with two rebounds and two assists. Reichter recorded his fourth double-double of the season, scoring 14 points and hauling in 12 rebounds. The freshman also shot 6-of-6 from the charity stripe, adding a block as well.
Anton Fontin finished with nine points, a rebound, a steal and an assist. Eric Kenesie posted eight points, two rebounds and two steals. He shot 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.
Hall scored a Lewis-best 23 points, shooting 8-of-11 (72.7%) from the floor and 4-of-7 (57.1%) from three. Fischer scored a second-best 16 points, making all six of his free throws.
The Peacocks shot 31-of-62 (50%) from the field, 8-of-27 (29.6%) from deep and 11-of-15 (73.3%) from the charity stripe. The Flyers shot 18-of-44 (40.9%) from the floor, 7-of-22 (31.8%) from three and 17-of-20 (85%) from the free-throw line.
Upper Iowa outrebounded Lewis, 35-25. The Peacocks also outscored the Flyers, 29-11, in bench points and 42-16 in the paint. UIU pushed the pace, scoring 16 points on fast breaks.
