FAYETTE, Iowa – A 14-0 run to open the second half would help lead Upper Iowa University to a New Year's Eve victory over the University of Minnesota Crookston 79-68. The Golden Eagles would get the lead down to 10 points late in the second half, but the early run would be enough to squash UMC's hopes of going into 2017 on a winning note.
"We went 0-for-4 our last four possessions of the first half and they were able to get the lead out to seven going into half-time," said
Dan Weisse. "In the locker room we talked about coming out with a lot of energy in the first five minutes of the second half but we gave up a 14-0 run to Upper Iowa. I like our team's fight. We are getting tougher as a team, but we continue to find ourselves having lapses during games. It happened last night at Winona State and it happened again tonight. If we can put together a full 40 minutes, I think we are going to be a really tough team to play against."
Minnesota Crookston falls to 5-8 (1-6 NSIC) with Saturday's loss. Upper Iowa improves to 10-4 (7-1 NSIC) and continues to reside near the top of the NSIC South.
Minnesota Crookston had four players score in double figures on the night.
Chase Knickerbocker (So., G/F, Annandale, Minn.) led the way with 15 points, including going 4-of-8 from beyond the arc.
Kobe Critchley (So., G, Roseville, Minn.) added 14 on 6-of-10 from the field.
Connor Gamble (R-Fr., G, Stillwater, Minn.) came off the bench for 11, while
Harrison Cleary (Fr., G, Oak Creek, Wis.) was held to 10.
The Golden Eagles shot 26-of-70 for 37.1 percent. They were 10-of-33 for 30.3 percent from beyond the arc. UMC had 14 turnovers for the game.
The Golden Eagles forced 18 Upper Iowa turnovers. The Peacocks had a strong night shooting as they finished 28-of-52 for 53.8 percent from the field. They were 5-of-11 for 45.5 percent from beyond the arc. Upper Iowa also had four players score in double-figures. Jordan Hay led the way with 20 points and seven boards. Luke Lenhart added 18 points, including 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. Jimmy Roth and Dennis Austin, III each had 14 points.
UMC would get out to the 5-2 advantage on a Knickerbocker trey. Upper Iowa would counter and would take the 6-5 lead on an Austin basket. UMC would be able to knot it up as
Chase Johnson (Fr., F, La Crosse, Wis.) hit a free throw to make it 6-6. A Critchley bucket would put the score in favor of the Golden Eagles 8-6, but a Josh Weeber trey would flip the script and put the lead in Upper Iowa's favor 9-8.
The Peacocks would build their lead with a Hay old-fashioned three-point play to make it 12-8. UMC would respond and would take the lead 15-14 on a Cleary lay-in. The Golden Eagles would be able to extend their lead to 18-15 on a Knickerbocker trey. However, Upper Iowa quickly took the lead back 19-18 on a Roth bucket. UMC would get the lead right back on a Smith basket and Upper Iowa would take it right back again on a Hay jumper.
The Peacocks would be able to extend their lead to 30-22 after a Austin fast-break lay-up put a stamp on a 9-2 run for Upper Iowa.
Smith would come up with a run-stopper three-pointer to get UMC back within 30-25 with four minutes left. Cleary would follow it up with a bucket at the hoop to cut the advantage to 30-27. Upper Iowa's Weeber would respond with another three-pointer to push the Peacock lead back out to 33-27.
Gamble would come up in the clutch with a big three-pointer to get the advantage back down to three (33-30) with two minutes left in the first half. The Peacocks would extend their lead to 37-30 on a Hay put-back, which would be the score going into the break.
Minnesota Crookston looked to seven points from Critchley and Smith to lead the way. Smith added eight rebounds to his first-half tally. Knickerbocker added six points. The NSIC's leading scorer Cleary was held to just four first-half points.
UMC shot 12-of-36 for 33.3 percent for the first half. The Golden Eagles were 5-of-20 for 25.0 percent from beyond the arc and just 1-of-6 for 16.7 percent from the charity stripe.
The Peacocks looked to 12 points from Hay to lead the way. Jimmy Roth added seven points, while Austin and Weeber each had six.
Upper Iowa was 14-of-31 for 45.2 percent from the field. They shot 3-of-7 for 42.9 percent from beyond the arc.
The Peacocks would race to a 14-0 run out of the locker room after the half. The Golden Eagles would finally squash the run on a Smith jumper to keep the game at 21 (53-32) with 14:38 left. They would cut the lead to 53-34 on a pair of Johnson free throws.
A Gamble trey, followed by a Johnson drive would get UMC within 16 (55-39) with 12 minutes left. Johnson would find the bucket again to get the Golden Eagles within 14. Cleary would continue the 10-2 run for UMC with a bucket to cut the advantage down to 12.
After a pair of missed Roth free throws, Gamble would nail a crucial three to move the run to 13-2 and get the Golden Eagles within single-digits at nine after being down 21 earlier in the quarter.
Upper Iowa would stop the run with a Roth lay-in to extend the Peacock advantage to 59-46 with 9:17 left in the game. A pair of Roth free throws would extend the Upper Iowa lead to 15 (61-46) with 8:20 left in the game. Roth would hit two more free throws later in the half to get the advantage out to 19 with 5:30 left in the game.
A Knickerbocker three would help UMC pull back within 14 with 4:20 left in the game. UMC would be able to get within 12 points off of a Johnson steal and a Knickerbocker basket with 1:45 remaining.
Upper Iowa would respond as Lenhart hit a pair of free throws to move the lead back out to 14. The Golden Eagles would be able to strike and get the lead down to 10 on a Knickerbocker three-pointer.
Carson Parker would connect on 1-of-2 from the charity stripe for Upper Iowa to put the lead back out to 11. After a UMC travel, they would foul Lenhart who would connect on both to push the advantage out to 13 with 33 seconds left in the game. Upper Iowa would be able to hold on for the 79-68 win.
Minnesota Crookston will open the New Year Jan. 6 at home at 8 p.m. against University of Minnesota Duluth.
