By: Howie Thompson, Director of Sports Communication
Fayette, Iowa - The Peacocks erased a nine-point deficit in the second half and junior Jake Hughes buried a three-pointer in the corner to break a tie with two seconds to play as Upper Iowa defeated Augustana 70-66 in front of a lively home crowd.
Upper Iowa (6-10, 3-9 NSIC) defeated Augustana (10-6, 7-5 NSIC) for the second straight time in Dorman Gym thanks to an 18-2 run that spanned over seven minutes in the middle of the second half. With 11:54 to play in the game, the Vikings had pushed their lead to nine, 51-42, but the Peacocks dug down and battled back to take a seven-point lead, 60-53, with just under five minutes to play.
In the run, UIU was fueled by their defense which limited their guests to just one field goal in 11 attempts. The Peacock offense, on the other hand, converted 6 of their 10 field goal attempts and added four free throws.
Augustana would not go quietly though as the visitors cut the gap to two, 65-63, with a pair of free throws from Cody Schilling with 37 seconds to play. After Hughes hit one of two at the charity stripe, Augie's Drae Murray made his foruth trifecta of the night to tie the game at 66-66 with just 22 seconds to play.
Joey Woods took the ball after a timeout and with 10 seconds to play began to make his way to the basket. Two Viking defenders moved toward Woods as he drove down the right side leaving the Peacocks' point guard alone in the corner. Woods delivered the ball and Hughes' shot was pure over good pressure to give UIU the lead, 69-66, with just 2.3 seconds to play. Woods added the final point of the night at the free throw line to give the home team their four-point win.
UIU led by ten midway through the first half, 21-11, thanks to a 15-4 run, but Augustana was able to chip away at the margin as the teams headed into halftime tied at 29-29. The Vikings tied the score at half thanks to a half-courter from Murray at the buzzer. The visitors outscored their hosts 22-13 over the opening eight minutes of the second half before Upper Iowa's big rally.
The Peacocks hit nine three-pointers on the night led by freshman Bo Pagel, who knocked in four from deep. Hughes and Sam Elgin each put in two, while Brad Arnold hit one.
Upper Iowa's defense held the Vikings to just 6 assists on the night, while dishing out 12 of their own led by Arnold and Woods, who each handed out four.
In addition to Hughes' offensive output on the night, the junior from Cedar Rapids snared six steals and 5 rebounds.
| PEACOCK STAT LEADERS |
| * Sam Elgin... 15 pts || * Bo Pagel... 14 pts, 2 reb || * Jake Hughes... 13 pts, 6 steals, 5 reb || * Mike Lafrenz... 8 pts, 5 reb || * Tucker Wentzien... 8 pts, 3 reb || * Joey Woods... 5 pts, 4 assists, 3 reb |
| VIKING STAT LEADERS |
| * Drae Murray... 20 pts, 4 reb, 4 steals, 2 assists || * Cameron McCaffrey... 13 pts, 2 reb || * Cody Schilling... 7 pts, 8 reb, 2 steals || * Alex Richter... 8 pts, 5 reb |
NEXT UP FOR THE PEACOCKS...
Upper Iowa return to Prochaska Court in Dorman Gym tomorrow night for a match up with the Wildcats of Wayne State College. The Peacocks will look to make it three wins in a row with tipoff scheduled for 8 p.m. following the women's game. |