ALVA, Okla.- The Ranger Men's Basketball team put together two solid performances during the first weekend of basketball and will look to use opening weekend as a catalyst for the rest of the season.

                Northwestern finished with a 1-1 record in the MIAA/GAC Challenge last weekend in Edmond with a loss on Friday night to Central Oklahoma 68-77, followed by an overtime victory against Northeastern State, 91-80. Despite dropping the contest to UCO, holding a talented Bronchos team to just 77 points shows just what the stifling Ranger's defense can do to other team's offenses.

                The Rangers defense kept the Bronchos and Riverhawks offenses in check for most of the games, allowing both teams to shoot an average of 46 percent from the floor as well as just 29 percent from behind the three-point line. Head coach Shawn Dirden mentioned that the extra day in between games allowed his team to go over some film from the UCO game and he was very pleased with how his team accepted criticism and made the necessary adjustments in order to take down a solid Northeastern team.

                The Rangers had four different players average double-digit points in both games including senior Adrian Motley, whose lay-up at the 10:03 mark in the first half gave him 1,000 points for his career. Motley averaged 15.0 points over the weekend to lead the Rangers, and will look to continue to see his name rise on Northwestern's all-time career points list.
                  "I think it's a special thing to coach a kid who accomplishes that whether you're an assistant or a head coach." Coach Dirden said.
                  Motley and company will look to continue their solid play this weekend when they make their first road trip to Arkansas to take on Harding University Thursday evening, followed by a showdown with Arkansas Tech University on Saturday. Last season the Rangers dropped both contests to Harding, but picked up a key 86-70 victory over Arkansas Tech on the road in Russellville.

                The Bison were ranked third in the Pre-season Great American Conference Coaches Poll, a year after sharing the regular season title with East Central University. The Bison finished the 2015-16 season with a 20-11 record, including a 10-2 record at home.

                Harding will enter the opening weekend of conference competition with a 1-1 record, losing to Minnesota State-Moorhead University by a final of 78-84, and handily defeating Northern State University, 93-69. Junior Tim Wagner leads the way for the Bison averaging 28.0 points a game for a team offense that is currently shooting 46 percent from the field and 42 percent from behind the three-point line.

                The Wonderboys were picked to finish sixth in the Pre-season GAC Coaches Poll, finishing last season with a 15-14 record, with a 10-12 mark in conference.

                Arkansas Tech has yet to play an official game this season, but lost on a last second lay-up against Division I University of Texas-San Antonio on November 7 in exhibition action. The Wonder Boys list four Division I transfers on their website.
               
Tip-off for this weekend's games are set for Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday at 3:00 p.m.  

Thursday vs HARDING: Click here for Live Stats and Click here for Live Video

Saturday vs ARK TECH: Click here for Live Stats and Click here for Live Video

For the latest information and updates on Ranger Basketball, follow @NWOSUAthletics on Twitter or go to www.riderangersride.com.