The Peacocks rallied in the second half, but a Jernell Hughes three-pointer at the buzzer drew iron and Upper Iowa fell to the Wisconsin-Parkside Rangers, 74-71.
 
It was a banner night for Hughes as he scored a career-high 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting. The senior had eight points in the first half, including five in the final five minutes to spark UIU heading to the locker room. The Imokalee, Florida native then had a couple go-ahead baskets in the second half as UIU erased a six-point halftime deficit, but came up just a few inches long on his deep three at the horn.
 
Neither team shot the ball well in the game, as both combined to go 8-of-28 from behind the arc. The Rangers (6-2, 1-1 GLVC) came into the game shooting 51% for the year, but shot just 37.3% (22-59), while Upper Iowa (6-8, 2-3 NSIC) was just 23-of-66 (34.8%).
 
In the first half, UWP used a 17-3 run over eight minutes to pull ahead 25-14. The Peacocks, sparked by Hughes, rallied late in the half to pull within three, 34-31, but a Rangers three pointer in the final 30 seconds gave UW-Parkside a six point halftime advantage, 37-31.
 
UIU battled back early in the second half and a Dennis Austin III layup gave Upper Iowa a 44-43 lead with 12:17 left in the game. It was the first time the Peacocks had led since it was 11-10 at the 12:49 mark in the first half.
 
From that point on it was like a heavyweight slugfest as each team took turns throwing punches. The lead changed hands 11 times and there were 7 ties over the next 11 minutes. But with 1:37 left, the Rangers knocked down a pair of free throws to take the lead, 68-67, for a final time.
 
UWP senior guard Andy Mazurczak was 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the final 33 seconds to put the Rangers up three with eight seconds left. It gave UIU one last chance to tie the game but it wasn't meant to be.
 
Carson Parker (16 points) and Austin III (12) joined Hughes in double figures. Parker added a team-high 4 assists and Ethan Steinbronn led the Peacocks with 6 rebounds in just 7 minutes of playing time.
 
Upper Iowa will play one final game before the Christmas break when they travel to Winona, Minnesota to take on the Warriors of Winona State on Saturday, Dec. 19, at 4 p.m.