MARSHALL, Minn. – Southwest Minnesota State shot 61 percent in the second half to rally for a 73-67 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference victory over Upper Iowa on Saturday night.

SMSU (5-5, 4-2 NSIC) was led by Jordan Miller, who scored a season-high 23 points, on 7 of 12 shooting, including connecting on three 3-pointers.  Tramel Barnes added 14 points and four assists for SMSU.  SMSU ended the game with a season-low seven turnovers.

UIU (3-6, 0-5 NSIC) dropped its fifth straight game and is now 0-7 all-time versus SMSU in Marshall.  The Peacocks were led by Brad Arnold's 12 points on 5 of 7 shooting.

The Mustangs finished the game shooting 51 percent (25 of 49) from the field, including 5 of 13 from 3-point range.  UIU shot a solid 54.5 percent (24 of 44) from the field and was 6 of 12 from 3-point.  The Peacocks also held a 28-18 rebound advantage, but the SMSU defense forced UIU into 16 turnovers.  SMSU held a 23-7 advantage in points off turnovers.

The Peacocks led 35-32 at halftime before SMSU scored the first six points of the second half to built a 38-35 lead with 17 minutes and 43 seconds left in the game.

The teams traded the lead for the next eight minutes with UIU building a 49-46 lead at the 9:57 mark before Miller connected on a 3-pointer to tie the game at 49-all.

Miller hit a pair of free throws with eight minutes left to give SMSU the lead at 53-52 and the Mustangs would never trail again.  The lead moved to 64-54 with 5:17 left in the game following a three-point play by Williams Giddings, but UIU wouldn't go away and pulled to within 65-63 with 2:14 remaining.

Vinard Birch gave SMSU a 67-63 lead with a layup, before Tucker Wentzien made it a two-point game with a dunk at the 1:33 mark.

Giddings then hit a pair of free throws with 1:08 left to give SMSU a 69-65 lead, but again UIU answered with a pair of free throws by Jake Hughes with 49 seconds on the clock.  Following a timeout, Birch hit two clutch free throws with 16 seconds remaining to extend the lead to four points and seal the win. 

SMSU scored the game's first two points but UIU quickly took the lead and built a 16-6 lead with 11 minutes and 27 seconds left in the half. 

SMSU cut the deficit to two points on a pair of occasions late in the half before UIU settled for a 35-32 halftime lead.

The Peacocks shot 57 percent from the field in the opening half, connecting on four 3-pointers, and held a 17-8 rebound advantage.  SMSU ended the half shooting 43 percent from the field.

Matt Zager rounded out SMSU's double figure scoring with 11 points and a team-high four rebounds.

Southwest Minnesota State will now have a 16-day break for the holidays and will return to NSIC play on Monday, Jan. 2, at Minnesota, Crookston.