FAYETTE, Iowa – The Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (3-4, 1-2 NSIC) fell short in a high-scoring contest at Upper Iowa (5-5, 2-2 NSIC) as the Peacocks claimed a 104-91 victory on Friday night.
 
In a game where both teams combined for 55 fast break points and 27 made three-pointers while also shooting 50.0% or better, it was the Peacocks that came out on top as they added to their lead in the all-time series with a mark of 18-14 in 32 meetings.
 
One of the big factors was turnovers as the Peacocks turned 15 CSP turnovers into 18 points while the Golden Bears finished with just four points off of UIU's eight points. Upper Iowa also held an edge beyond the arc as they hit 16-34 (47.1%) compared to 11-24 (45.8%) for Concordia. CSP did control play down low on the night as they finished with a 40-26 edge in points in the paint while also holding a 36-35 edge on the glass and an 11-6 edge in points in the paint.
 
Jordan Coblin played a big role in getting the Golden Bears back in it late as he scored 21 of his career-best 31 points after the break The junior got to the free throw line early and often as he connected on 13-17 from the charity stripe to go along with five assists and three boards in 35 minutes.
 
Noah Kannegiesser added an efficient performance off the bench as he hit 8-13 from the floor, including a red-hot 5-7 from deep, to finish with 21 points and four rebounds. Cody Carlson added a double-double, his second of the year, while Max Keefe also reached double figures with 11 points.
 
The Peacocks had a trio of players reach the 20+ point plateau as Joe Smoldt led the way with 25 points while Josh Carter and Jackson Joens each had 20 in the win.
 
The two teams traded buckets early in the contests as the game featured three ties and three lead changes before the Peacocks started to take control. With the Golden Bears holding a 10-7 lead at the 15:53 mark, UIU turned the momentum in their favor with a 10-0 run spanning four minutes to push the lead to seven. Concordia stemmed the tide with four of the next six points, but Upper Iowa was right back on the offensive with 11 points in a row to extend the run to 23-4 as their lead reached 16 at 30-14 with just over seven minutes left in the half.
 
The Golden Bears bounced back, however, as they scored the next seven points to trim the deficit back to single digits before further shrinking it to six a few minutes later at 38-32 on a three from Kannegiesser. UIU tacked three points back onto the lead before the break as CSP found themselves trailing 45-36 heading to the locker room.
 
After a cold start to the second half with two and a half scoreless minutes, Concordia continued to put pressure on the Peacocks as they cut it to six at 45-39 and five at 49-44, but another lengthy UIU run shifted the momentum in short order. With the margin still at six at 54-48 with 13:12 to go in the contest, Upper Iowa rattled off a 12-0 run as a part of a larger 18-2 burst to extend their lead all the way out to 22 at 72-50.
 
With 5:29 left on the clock and the Peacocks holding their largest lead of the night at 81-58, it was Concordia's turn to string together a run to make things interesting down the stretch. CSP ramped up the frenetic pace as they utilized an extended 23-12 run to nearly chop the UIU advantage in half with 1:43 to go in the game. The Golden Bears continued to put on the pressure as they eventually closed the margin to single digits at 100-91 with 51 seconds left, but that was all the closer they would get as four free throws iced the 104-91 win for Upper Iowa.
 
Concordia will look to claim their second consecutive weekend split tomorrow as they travel to Winona State for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off.