Box Score FAYETTE, Iowa – The Upper Iowa Peacocks used a strong second half to upend the University of Minnesota, Crookston men's basketball team 78-51 Friday night at Dorman Gymnasium in Fayette, Iowa. The Golden Eagles remain winless in the NSIC as they fall to 3-12 (0-11 NSIC). Upper Iowa improves to 12-5 (8-3 NSIC). Upper Iowa out-scored UMC 53-24 in the final 25 minutes of the game after UMC led 27-25 with 5:18 remaining in the first half.
 
The Golden Eagles were led by James Sparkman (R-Jr., F, Ypsilanti, Mich.), who had 13 points and six rebounds on the game. Sparkman was 5-of-9 from the field and 1-of-2 from beyond the arc. Brandon Burns (Jr., F, Baton Rouge, La.) added nine points while Ashton Harrell (Jr., G, Houston, Texas) added eight points on 3-of-5 shooting from the field. UMC finished the game shooting 12-of-32 for 37.5 percent and 6-of-13 from beyond the arc for 46.2 percent. UMC was only 1-of-5 from trey in the second half after shooting 5-of-8 in the opening half.
 
Turnovers plagued UMC in the game as the Golden Eagles finished with 21 led by six from Burns. UMC was also controlled on the boards as Upper Iowa won that battle by the tune of 37-24 led by seven rebounds from point guard Joey Woods.
 
Upper Iowa finished the game shooting 33-of-60 for 55.0 percent. The Peacocks were 2-of-12 from beyond the arc for 16.7 percent. Five players scored double-figures for Upper Iowa led by 13 points apiece from Jake Hughes and Tucker Wentzien. Hughes was 6-of-7 from the field for the Peacocks. Sam Elgin added 12 points, while Kierre Ogbonna came off the bench for 11 points and David Smith scored 10 points.
 
The UMC Golden Eagles used strong shooting from beyond the arc in order to stay in the fray in the first half. The Peacocks led by as many as six points (16-10) at the 13:25 mark but the Golden Eagles quickly cut into the lead dropping the deficit to two (20-18) with 11:00 remaining after a Harrell lay-up. After keeping Upper Iowa at arms length for the next three minutes, UMC would take the lead after Harrell converted a three-point play to make it 25-24 at the 8:38 mark. The Golden Eagles would extend their lead to three following a Burns jumper.
 
The Peacocks would knot the game up at 27-27 after Wentzien hit a free throw and Woods hit a lay-up and would take the advantage back 29-27 after two free throws from Elgin. Upper Iowa would extend their lead out to five (32-27) after a Grant Lang trey.
 
UMC would again get back into the fray in what was a back-and-forth first half after Almir Krdzalic (Sr., Sioux Falls, S.D.) hit a deep three to make it 32-30 but Upper Iowa would use four quick points to jump back out to a six-point advantage (36-30) with 1:43 left in the half. A David Smith jumper for Upper Iowa would take the lead out to 38-30 with a minute left in the game. That would be the lead at the break for the Peacocks.
 
The Golden Eagles were paced by nine first-half points from Burns, who was 4-of-10 from the field. Harrell, Abdou Niang (Sr., F, Dakar, Senegal) and Sparkman each added five points for UMC. The Golden Eagles shot 12-of-32 for 37.5 percent from the field and were 5-of-8 for 62.5 percent from beyond the arc in the opening period.
 
Upper Iowa was led by Hughes' eight points on 4-of-5 shooting in the first half. Smith and Elgin each added six points for the Peacocks. Upper Iowa was 15-of-29 from the field for 51.7 percent and just 1-of-6 for 16.7 percent from beyond the arc.
 
The Peacocks won the battle of the boards in the first half 20-15 led by seven rebounds from Woods.
 
The Golden Eagles would cut the UIU lead to six (38-32) early in the second half after a Sparkman put-back but the Peacocks were quickly able to jump back out to a 10-point advantage (42-32) after a Wentzien dunk. Upper Iowa would extend their lead out to 16 (50-34) after an Elgin breakaway dunk and a Wentzien lay-in and Wentzien breakaway dunk.
 
UMC cut the advantage to 13 following a Harrell three-point play but the Peacocks were able to extend their lead out to 55-37 with 13 minutes remaining. UIU would extend their lead out to 22 (61-39) at the 10:24 mark after Smith hit one-of-two from the charity stripe. Upper Iowa would further their lead to 28 (69-41) getting the game out of reach for the Golden Eagles.
 
UMC will face Winona State University at 6 p.m. at McCown Gymnasium in Winona, Minn., as they look for that elusive first NSIC victory.
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The University of Minnesota, Crookston is an NCAA Division II Institution and a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Golden Eagle Equestrian team is a member of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA).