FAYATTE, Iowa – The Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (9-19, 4-18 NSIC) ran into a hot-shooting Upper Iowa team (7-21, 4-18 NSIC), as the Peacocks drained 17 threes to defeat the Golden Bears 95-77 in Fayette.
 
Concordia drops to 14-17 in their all-time series history with the Peacocks, with Upper Iowa winning nine of the last ten matchups.
 
The Golden Bears were led by sophomore Lee Higgins, who put up a career-high 22 points on 8-16 shooting in the contest. Joining him in double figures were seniors Isaiah McKay with 16 points, and Elliot Kane and Bryndan Matthews who each put up 11.
 
Matthews also led all players in rebounds, with 13, for his ninth double-double this season and tenth game with 10+ rebounds. In addition to his double-double performance, the Eagan native led the team in assists (5) and steals (3) on the night.
 
The Peacocks were tough to keep pace with to start the first half, as they made five of their first seven shots, including four threes to take a quick 14-4 lead over the Golden Bears. From there, Higgins scored the next seven points for Concordia, helping CSP trail by only five with 12:22 left in the half. Upper Iowa then used a 12-2 run to build up a 15-point lead. They continued to add to this, taking a 21-point advantage into the halftime break, leading 45-24.
 
Higgins and junior Max Keefe were the top scorers for the Golden Bears in the first frame, each scoring seven points off the bench.
 
The Golden Bears were held to a 22.9 shooting percentage throughout the first half, while the Peacocks shot 53.3%. CSP greatly improved in the second half, connecting on 57.9% of their shots, including hitting 6-10 from deep. However, Upper Iowa shot even better in the second frame, draining 69.6% of their attempts and going 8-10 from beyond the arc.
 
Upper Iowa once again started the second half strong, scoring the first eight and going on an 11-2 run to increase their lead and force Concordia to call a timeout. The Peacocks coasted through the middle part of the half holding a twenty point lead for much of it. A late three-pointer from Kane cut the UIU lead to 16, but that was as close as the Peacocks would let them get, as they went on to win by 18.
 
The Golden Bears will look ahead to the first round of the NSIC playoffs that will take place on Wednesday, February 27^th, where they will take on Northern State in Aberdeen, South Dakota. The official game time has yet to be announced. Check back to www.cspbears.com for details.