ALVA, Okla. – A balanced Mulerider attack and cold Ranger shooting was the theme in Thursday evening's contest, as Northwestern was downed 77-69 by Southern Arkansas.

In a much anticipated Great American Conference home opener, a fast paced Northwestern team managed to get things going with a 13-8 advantage, after three straight long-balls coming from Zachary Dumas (2) and Greg Minor Jr. With forward Adrian Motley out, Shawn Dirden was able to spread some minutes across his bench. After some miscommunication by the Muleriders, Brandon Green snuck in for the steal then dropped a three-pointer to get the Ranger faithful going.

Dumas proved to be the key offensive guy for the Rangers in the first half, sinking six of his ten field goals for 19 points in the opening frame.

Unhappy with some of the calls against his physical Mulerider squad, Southern Arkansas head coach Andy Sharpe earned a technical foul after an animated outburst, firing up the Percefull crowd. The Muleriders managed to share the ball well in the first half, with eight different players putting up points.

A scary moment for the Rangers came at the 15:48 mark, when Houston, Texas native Green went down with what appeared to be a knee injury, needing help off the floor from medical staff. After resting the leg for about 10 minutes of clock, Green returned to the hardwood, giving Ranger fans a sigh of relief.

Despite shooting just 38.2% from the field, The Rangers took a 38-37 lead into halftime, partially thanks to going 7-14 on three-point shots including three from Dumas.

Trey Johnson got the second half underway with a bang, slamming one home over a Southern Arkansas defender just eight seconds into the frame. However a couple of key defensive stops for the Muleriders allowed them to regain the lead at 42-41.

Both teams would trade punches early in the half before Southern Arkansas went on a 12-6 run to extend their lead. The Rangers were called on a string of fouls, allowing the Muleriders to slow the game down. And slow the game down they did, eventually leading to a shot clock violation.

After dropping 19 of his 23 points in the first half, Dumas didn't find the mesh again until the 9:42 mark of the second frame, hitting both free throws after getting fouled by Keeton Tennison. Finding themselves down 14 with eight minutes to play, Northwestern appeared to lose a little steam. Led by a duo of Muleriders in CJ Elkins and Darnell Jones-Bowie, a determined Southern Arkansas squad never let up.

Leading by as many as 14, Southern Arkansas was able to control the tempo for the better part of the second half.  But head coach Shawn Dirden wasn't about to let this game get away from him, calling a much needed timeout to settle his troops while looking for a spark. That spark appeared to come from redshirt freshman Hunter Frisby, who played a season-high 21 minutes while displaying his range from beyond the arc and finding his groove late in the game.

But Northwestern kept finding themselves in foul trouble, as senior Austin Klug fouled out of the game with 3:51 to play. With two other players on the fringe with four fouls each, Northwestern was able to cut the Mulerider lead to just six points with 1:05 remaining. The comeback bid was denied as Southern Arkansas shut the door by hitting five of six free throws in the dying moments of the ballgame.

Up Next

The Rangers will get the day off Friday before hosting the University of Arkansas-Monticello in a Saturday matinee, with tip-off set for 3:00 pm.
 
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