FAYETTE, IOWA – Matt Cartwright scored 20 points while Jack Cartwright and Noah Puetz provided 10 each but the University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball Team (11-12, 7-10 NSIC) fell to No. 19 Upper Iowa (22-4, 16-4 NSIC), 82-58, on Saturday night (Feb. 11).

The loss set USF back to 7-10 in the NSIC and in seventh in the NSIC South. USF, which sits two games out of sixth (Minn. State, 8-8), will host No. 9 Augustana on Thursday, Feb. 17 at the Stewart Center before closing the season at Wayne State on Saturday, Feb. 19.

USF took an early 14-8 lead over Upper Iowa before the Peacocks closed the half on a 39-to-22 run to take a 47-36 halftime advantage. UIU outscored USF, 35-22, in the second half for the 82-58 win and with it, swept the season series with the Cougars.

For the third straight game, senior guard Matt Cartwright scored 20 points or more. With 20 tonight, the senior from Sioux Falls has 1,225 career points with his 18^th double-digit scoring game and 55^th of his career. He also had his 11^th 20-point game this year and 21^st in his career. He made 7-of-16 shots from the field, including 3-of-10 from three-point range along with three rebounds and both an assist and a steal.

Joining him in double-digits was his brother, Jack Cartwright, with 10 points in 16 minutes. In his second career double-digit scoring game, he hit a pair of triples in four attempts while grabbing five rebounds with a steal. Sophomore forward Noah Puetz supplied 10 points and seven rebounds as he had his fourth career double-digit scoring game. USF also had seven points from Luke Healy.

The Peacocks outshot USF and won the board battle. In the opening half, UIU made 19-of-31 field goals for 61.3 percent and 2-of-7 from three-point range. USF was just 13-of-41 for 31.7 percent and 5-of-19 from three-point range for 26.3 percent. In the second half, UIU cooled off at just 48.3 percent on 14-of-29 shooting while USF was 7-of-34 for 20.6 percent. Both teams hit two three-pointers after the break. In total, USF hit just 20-of-75 field goals for 26.7 percent and was 7-of-22 from three-point range and 21.2 percent. UIU, which had a 48-to-37 rebound margin, made 33-of-60 for 55 percent even as they hit on just 4-of-13 from three-point range.

Leading the way for the Peacocks was Lucas Duax with a double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds. Jake Hilmer also had 19 points with six assists while Joe Smoldt added 17 points.
With the rebound edge, UIU took a 42-to-14 margin in the paint and also had a 20-7 margin in fast break points.

Scoring Summary
After Joe Smoldt knocked down a three, M. Cartwright answers with a field goal "and 1" from Puetz, USF took a 6-3 lead. USF had an 8-to-5 run to open up a 14-8 lead after J. Cartwright's three-pointer. UIU answered with a 14-to-2 run and grabbed a 22-16 lead with 9:13 to play.

The Peacocks continued on their surge with another 15-to-6 run for a 37-22 lead with 6:15 to play. But the Cougars responded 9-4 run to cut the lead to 41-31 at the 1:55 mark. With a three-pointer by M. Cartwright and a fast break basket from J. Cartwright, USF drew within 43-36 at the 1:13 mark. However, UIU answered by finishing the half with the final four points to take a 47-36 lead to the break.

In the second half, UIU took control right away, and extended the lead to 52-37 with 17:18 to play after Lucas Duax hit a pair of foul shots. The shots just were not falling for USF in the second half as the Peacocks continued to build on their lead. They took a 57-37 advantage with 15:04 to play and led by as much as 29 points later in the half.