FAYETTE, Iowa. --- The Minnesota State men's basketball team fell to the Upper Iowa Peacocks 83-73 in overtime Friday evening in Fayette, Iowa.

With the loss, the Mavericks fall to 17-8 on the season, including a 12-7 NSIC record. With the win, the Peacocks improve to 17-8, including a 14-5 NSIC record. This is the first time that Upper Iowa has defeated Minnesota State in Fayette.

The Mavericks controlled the pace of the entire first half as they held the lead for more than 18 minutes. With 4:32 to go in the half, MSU built its largest lead of the half at 34-19 after a layup from senior Trey Sampson. Upper Iowa managed to finish the first half on a 9-3 run to bring the score to 37-28 as the teams went into halftime.

Eight Mavericks reached the scoring column in the first half as MSU connected on 14-of-32 (.438) shots from the field. Sophomore Jay Knuth led the Maverick offense in the first half with eight points, while senior Aarias Austin and sophomore Cole Harper added six points each. 

As a team, MSU hauled in 18 rebounds in the first half and it passed out seven helpers. The Mavericks also took advantage of 10 Peacock turnovers as they scored 14 points off of them.

Upper Iowa shot 44.4% from the field in the first half. Jordan Hay led the UIU offense in the first half with six points.

The second half saw the Mavericks rebuild their 15 point lead as they led 61-46 with 8:41 to go in the game. MSU still held a double-digit lead with 5:29 to go, but the Peacocks managed to back within a basket of the Mavericks at 66-63 with 1:16 to go in the second half. The Peacocks then got a layup and a free throw from Hay in the final 41 seconds to force overtime.

The overtime session saw the Mavericks jump out to a 70-68 lead with 3:08 to go after a jumper from junior Charlie Brown. It would be all Peacocks in the final three minutes of the overtime period as they outscored the Mavericks 15-3 as UIU locked down the 83-73 win.

Senior Jon Fuqua finished the game with a team-high 14 points, while Sampson added 12 points off the bench. Sophomore Cole Harper finished one point shy of a double-double as he tallied nine points and 10 rebounds.

MSU shot 39.7% from the field and held a 40-35 advantage in rebounds. The Mavericks also forced 18 turnovers and recorded 10 steals. 

Hay recorded a game-high 26 points, while Luke Lenhart tallied 17 points of his own. UIU finished the night shooting 51.7% from the field, including an 8-of-14 (.571) showing from behind the arc.

Minnesota State wraps up its regular season road schedule on Saturday as it takes on the Winona State Warriors. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.