MONTICELLO, Ark. – Jack Peck continues to establish himself as a to-go scorer for the Northwestern Oklahoma State University men's basketball team as he dropped 17 point in a 70-58 defeat at the hands of Arkansas-Monticello on the road Thursday night.
Peck led the Rangers in scoring in the Great American Conference contest with the help of three three-point baskets and a couple put back rebounds. The junior has averaged 18.25 points contest in the last four games.
Northwestern (5-14, 3-10) looks to get over the hump in road games Saturday afternoon as the Rangers head to Magnolia, Arkansas, with a GAC matchup against Southern Arkansas.
In the game Thursday night, A.J. Jones and Andrew Cashman joined Peck in double-figures with 11 points each. Cashman and Peck finished with six rebounds to lead the Rangers on the boards.
Despite the final outcome, it was a pretty even matchup between the two teams, with the separation coming in three-point baskets and free-throws. Monticello outscored the Rangers behind the arc 24-15 and at the charity stripe 12-7.
UAM scored five straight points early in the first half after an A.J. Jones bucket in the paint to gain control of the lead. Even though it would ultimately take the Rangers the next 14 minutes to tie the game, they never trailed by more than six points during the same span.
Starting with a Peck three-point basket at the 16:43 mark, both teams traded points eight times. The trend was snapped with five minutes to go in the first when A.J. Jones followed a Peck three with a layup.
The pair of field goals triggered a 12-3 run by the Rangers, including a Cole Jones basket from behind the arc to tie the game at 28 and an A.J. Jones pull up jumper to give the Rangers a lead. Unfortunately, the Boll Weevils got a basket in the final seconds of the half to tie the game at 30.
After UAM started the scoring in the second half, Peck and Cashman had back-to-back layups to regain the lead for the Rangers with 18 minutes remaining. The Boll Weevils again took the lead for the final time with 16:04 to go in the game.
Northwestern kept the game within reach throughout, not trailing the home team by more than five until midway through the second half. Eric Andres Jr. converted a pair of free-throws with 11:28 to go to cut the lead to a basket. But the Boll Weevils went on a quick 7-0 run to begin creating room between them and the Rangers.
In the final eight minutes of the game, UAM had an answer for any shot made by the Rangers. Peck did his best to spark something in the Northwestern offense as he scored seven straight points, capped by a three with 5:12 to go.
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