MONTICELLO, Ark. – The University of Arkansas at Monticello men's basketball team pushed its win streak to six games on Saturday with a 93-73 victory over Northwestern Oklahoma State University from the Steelman Field House in Monticello, Arkansas. KJ Lesure had a career-high 32 points, while Justin Slocum tallied a double-double in the win.
 
The Weevil offense continued to shine bright as it has for the entirety of its win streak shooting 42.9 percent from the field and 46.4 percent from downtown. In the first half, UAM shot 50.0 percent from the floor going 18-for-36.
 
UAM came out firing in the first half, especially from downtown. With 13:34 remaining in the period, Austin Hardy hit UAM's second three of the half and then would hit another one about a minute later to put UAM back up by four.
 
Hardy later made it a six-point advantage when he got free for a layup off a pass from Marcus Gilbert. When the clock struck 11:00 minutes Kwame McBean got in on the action with a nice lay-in, and then he made it a 10-point lead with 10:15 left when Lesure gave him a nice dish inside for the basket.
 
Gilbert would then get hot hitting a pair of three's and Wanya King would join him a little later to put the Weevils up, 34-18. UAM would go on another run to conclude the period highlighted by three's from Lesure and Gilbert to take a 56-37 lead into halftime.
 
To start the second period, the Weevils came out surprisingly slow. Northwestern Oklahoma State fought back into it and with 10:58 left to play, the Rangers cut the deficit to 10, 65-55. A few moments later, we saw stellar play from the team's top scorers on the day in Lesure and Slocum, as they helped put UAM back ahead by 18, 75-57.
 
With a little over a minute remaining, the Weevils eventually got its lead back to 20 points when Slocum got to the line hitting UAM's final points of the game as they would go on to win, 93-73.
 
Lesure led all scorers with 32 points going 7-of-12 from the field, 4-of-7 from downtown and 14-of-15 at the line. The senior also had six assists, a pair of rebounds and one steal.
 
Slocum tallied a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
 
Gilbert, Hardy and King also finished in double-figures. Gilbert posted 15 points, two assists and two rebounds, while Hardy had 13 points and five boards. King tallied 12 points and six rebounds.
 
With the win, the Weevils' win streak is now up to six and they improve to 13-2 overall and 5-1 in Great American Conference matchups. The Weevils are also undefeated at home recording an 8-0 record. Northwestern Oklahoma State falls to 4-8 overall and 1-5 in GAC play.
 
UP NEXT
UAM will hit the road when it travels to Durant, Oklahoma for a GAC matchup at Southeastern Oklahoma State University. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.