Dec. 13, 2009

Box Score

The Upper Iowa University men's basketball team returned to Prochaska Court inside Dorman Gym Sunday afternoon to play host to the Bemidji State University Beavers. UIU defeated BSU, 91-80, to claim their second Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference win of the weekend and move into a tie for second in the NSIC standings.

Hot shooting by both teams dominated the first seven minutes of the contest as the two teams combined to shoot five-of-seven from behind the arc as BSU held a slim 14-11 lead. However, the next four minutes belonged to Bemidji State when they went on a quick run with back-to-back-to-back layups by Seth Haake to run their lead to 23-16.

The Peacocks closed the gap back to five, 27-22, with consecutive three-point buckets by Devin Eighmey and Mark Lafrenz but the Beavers hot three-point shooting kept them comfortably in front at 39-26 with 3:38 to play before the halftime break.

Lafrenz gave UIU a spark in the closing minutes of the first half with a pair of three's to send the teams to the locker rooms with Bemidji State holding a 43-34 advantage. Lafrenz led all scorers at the half with 12 points thanks to four three-point buckets.

The visitors shots an impressive 65.5% (19-of-29) from the field in the first half which included a 5-of-8 (62.5%) mark from beyond the three-point line. UIU tallied a 12-of-30 mark from the field in the first half and a 8-of17 clip from beyond the three-point line. The Peacocks shot and made the only two free throws of the first half while committing three more turnovers than did BSU.

The Peacocks closed the gap on BSU within the first minute and a half of action in the second half. Keith Steffeck nailed a three to cap off a quick 7-0 run and bring the Peacocks back to almost even at 43-41 before Bemidji State was forced to call a timeout to regroup. The Peacocks continued their hot three-point shooting ways following the timeout and eventually took their first lead, 47-46, when Steffeck buried another three with 17:44 remaining in regulation.

After the visitors regained their lead, the Peacocks went on a 10-0 run, gaining their largest lead of the contest at 7, 61-54 with 11:22 remaining in the second half. Six of the 10 Peacock points were thanks to Mike Lafrenz, with the last three registered by a Dan Bestul three-ball.

Upper Iowa went on a 15-9 run over the next six minutes to keep the Beavers from gaining any momentum towards cutting into UIU's 76-64 lead. When BSU finally gained some ground with a quick 4-0 run, Steffeck buried back-to-back three's to extend the home team's lead back to 11, 82-71 with 3:02 remaining in the contest.

UIU salted the game away down the stretch with free throws on their way to a 91-80 victory. Steffeck led all scorers by dropping 22, all of which came in the second half, while grabbing four boards. Mark Lafrenz, Hughes and Lesan also finished in double-figures scoring with 12, 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Both teams shots 50% from beyond the three-point arc with UIU going 15-of-30 and BSU 8-of-16. The Peacocks also outrebounded the Beavers 28-19.

The victory improves UIU's record to 4-5 overall and 3-1 in the NSIC.

Upper Iowa returns to non-conference action to close out the 2009 calendar year. On Friday, Dec. 18, the Peacocks travel to St. Paul, Minn. to play Regis University, an NCAA Division II opponent from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, inside the Ganglehoff Center on the campus of Concordia-St. Paul. Tip off is slated for 6 p.m.