By Logan Jones
Assist. Sports Editor
In the final homestand of the 2019 season, the Northwestern men’s basketball team took on the two Arkadelphia-based teams, Ouachita Baptist and Henderson State.
On Thursday night, the Rangers took on the OBU Tigers at Percefull Fieldhouse. However, after a close, back and forth game, Northwestern ultimately lost, 67-58.
The Rangers came out of the gate running, leading the Tigers by the score of 18-11 after nine minutes of play. In the first half, the red and black would lead by as many as nine points.
Despite the early deficit, the Tigers managed to battle back, tying the Rangers at 21 with just over six minutes left in the half.
For the remainder of the first half, both teams looked to be evenly matched with the Tigers responding every time the Rangers found the net. At the buzzer, Northwestern held a slight one-point lead at 32-31.
The second half picked up where the first left off with both teams battling back and forth for the lead.
With nine and a half minutes left in the game, OBU scored eight unanswered points, giving the Tigers a 5-point cushion. The Rangers would go on to cut the lead to one but just could not over take the Tigers. With five minutes left on the clock, Northwestern seemed to run out of gas, only scoring nine to OBU’s 15.
Redshirt sophomore Jack Peck led the scoring for the Rangers, putting up a season high 18 points and four assists. Other standouts include A.J. Jones and Eric Andres Jr., each putting up eight points, while Andrew Clopton and David Thornton each scored five of their own.
The boys looked to make their last home game a good one as they looked to take down the Henderson State Reddies on Senior Day. Lone senior, Hunter Frisby, was honored before the game as he and his family were awarded a framed jersey of his number 4. The Rangers went on to win, 69-54.
After starting the game with each team neck and neck for the lead, a big 3-pointer from Cole Jones sparked a 13-2 Ranger run, giving Northwestern a 22-10 lead with seven and a half minutes left in the first.
The red and black led by as many as 14 in the first half before the Reddies cut into the lead. The half ended with the Rangers winning 32-20.
When the second half came around, HSU tried to fight their way back into the ball game.
They went on a 9-2 run to bring them within eight points. The Reddies continued to chip away at the Ranger lead, ultimately trailing by only three with 10 minutes left. The red and black would stretch the lead to 11 and again to 13. Then with 46 seconds remaining, Jones drained a 3-pointer, making the score 69-54, where it stayed until the final buzzer.
Northwestern heads into the final week of the season with a 7-19 overall record and a 5-15 record in conference.
The Rangers will finish the 2019 campaign on the road as they take on the Arkansas Tech Wonderboys in Russellville, AR on Feb. 28 before heading to Searcy to play the Bison of Harding University on Saturday, March 2.