FAYETTE, Iowa – After getting off to a fast start for the third game in a row, Missouri S&T's men's basketball team was unable to overcome a first half run by Upper Iowa and wound up on the short end of a 94-86 Great Lakes Valley Conference decision Thursday night at Dorman Memorial Gymnasium.
The Miners (12-10, 6-9 GLVC) opened the game by scoring the first nine points of the contest, capped by a lay-in by
Kaden Froebe (Lincoln, IL/Lincoln) before the Peacocks (15-8, 10-5 GLVC) got their first points on a three-pointer by Caleb Delzell. S&T made seven of its first eight shots of the game and led 17-11 following a dunk by
Andrew Young (Ballwin, MO/Marquette) at the 14:23 mark.
S&T maintained the lead until after the second media timeout, when a short jumper by Noah King gave Upper Iowa its first lead – and put the Miners in a deficit for the first time in three contests – and was part of a 12-0 run that eventually allowed the Peacock lead to grow to nine at 30-21.
Upper Iowa was hot from three-point range throughout the first half, making seven of its 11 attempts and was able to maintain the advantage for the rest of the period as it led 46-35 at the intermission.
The pace of the game picked up early in the second half and the Peacocks – who are sixth in NCAA Division II in scoring – extended its lead to 14 after Nick Reid drained a three-pointer. However, the Miners responded by scoring 10 of the next 12 points and cut the lead to six when
Julien Smith (Fort Worth, TX/Northwest) scored at the 15:21 mark.
S&T would later cut the margin to one at 62-61 after Smith knocked down a three-pointer, but Delzell scored five straight points for Upper Iowa and his three-pointer at the 12:13 mark extended the lead back to six. The Miners would cut the lead to three after a three-point play by Froebe, but a quick 6-0 Peacock, which included a three-pointer by GLVC scoring leader Jake Hilmer, pushed it back to a nine-point game again with just over eight minutes remaining.
The Miners were able to get the lead down to five with a little more than two minutes to go after a lay-in by
Cameron Stovall (St. Louis, MO/Vashon), but the Peacocks got a dunk from Delzell on their next trip down the floor and held off S&T from the free throw line from there as they made seven of their eight attempts down the stretch.
Lovell Williams (Rogers, MN/Maple Grove) led the Miners in the scoring column with 21 points and also had eight assists, making him the second player in program with multiple 100-assist seasons.
Ikenna Okeke (Bolingbrook, IL/Romeoville) added 16 points, while Froebe and Stovall finished with 15 apiece.
The Miners shot 52.5 percent in the second half and finished the evening at 50 percent from the field, but the Peacocks countered with 12 three-point baskets on top of a 47.5 percent shooting night.
Delzell had a game-high 23 to pace Upper Iowa, while Hilmer finished with 22 and King with 21.
Missouri S&T will conclude its three-game run on the road Saturday when it takes on Truman State in a 3 p.m. game in Kirksville, Mo.
