DURANT, Okla. – Despite leading by as many as 10 points in the second half, the Rangers (5-8, 1-7 GAC) fell to Southeastern Oklahoma State by a final of 62-57.

Northwestern Men's Basketball has been no stranger to close games this season, and Saturday's matinee proved no different. Fresh off their first conference win of the year, the Rangers got off to a hot start inside Bloomer Sullivan Arena with intentions of propelling ahead of the Storm in the GAC standings.

Kevin Buckingham got Southeastern started with a bang after hitting back-to-back three pointers from the near corner to give the Storm their first lead of the ballgame. Ranger Cody Halvorson wasted no time continuing his dominance from beyond the arc, connecting on his first touch of the game. Halvorson entered today's game sitting fifth in the Great American Conference in both three point field goal percentage and three pointers made.

With both squads tied in the standings and each coming off victories on Thursday evening, this was sure to be a tight contest. That's exactly what the first period produced as the Rangers and Storm exchanged six lead changes and four ties over the course of the half. Northwestern displayed impressive efficiency in the opening frame, shooting 57.7 percent from the field and took a 32-28 lead into halftime. Leading Ranger scorer Adrian Motley, who is currently averaging 19.6 points per game (good for third in the conference), had 12 of his game high 21 points in the first half.

The Rangers came out of the break with what seemed like a strong presence, as Halvorson extended their lead to 10 with a three pointer at the 17:14 mark of the second half.
Junior guard Brandon Green continued his helping ways, recording another nine assists. The 6'2" Houston, Texas product is third in the conference in that category, averaging 5.8 assists per game.

But as expected, Southeastern never rolled over when they were down. The Storm clawed their way back with an 11-2 run to tie the game at 50-50 with just under six minutes to play, in part thanks to a layup and three pointer from sophomore Jett Jobe.

Anton Cook broke his cold shooting streak and gave Southeastern its first lead since early in the first half by hitting a deep three pointer, making it 56-55 for SEOSU. Buckingham followed that up with an improbable running jumper, that floated in high of the glass with 28.7 seconds left. On the ensuing Ranger possession, Zachary Dumas had a chance to cut the Storm lead to just one, but missed a layup after blowing by three defenders.

Down 60-57 with 7.4 seconds on the clock, the Rangers were forced to foul. Jobe sunk both of his free throws, giving the Southeastern Storm a 62-57 win.

In this tale of two halves, the Storm was able to turn around their ice cold first half to finish shooting 41 percent from the field. Led by a trio of Jobe (15 points), Cook (14 points) and Buckingham (13 points), Southeastern was able to make shots in the late stages of the game.

Up Next

The Rangers will get a chance to flush Saturday's loss in a hurry, as they host long time rival Southwestern Oklahoma State (4-9, 1-6 GAC) inside of Percefull Fieldhouse Monday night. The Bulldogs are in the midst of a three game slide that head coach Shawn Dirden and his team plan on adding to.

In their last meeting, the Rangers managed to dismantle a strong Bulldog defence, led by a 23 point performance from Adrian Motley. Southwestern is winless in their previous four games in Alva. 
Monday's game is slated for a 7:30 tip-off. 

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