ARKADELPHIA, ARK- Northwestern Oklahoma State's men's basketball team was closed out in the final minutes of the game despite 20-point performances from both
Adrian Motley and Zach Dumas.
The Rangers (4-6, 0-5 in GAC) were edged out on Thursday evening by a final score of 74-70 by Ouachita Baptist (5-4, 3-2 in GAC) in a game where the scoring margin never exceeded more than four points in the second half of action. Northwestern was paced by outstanding nights from senior
Adrian Motley and sophomore Zach Dumas, who recorded 23 and 20 points respectively.
Motley went 9-of-16 from the floor and also grabbed a team high nine rebounds, just shy of double-double numbers. Dumas got started early in the evening and hit all three of his first half three-point shots. Dumas finished the evening 7-of-8 from the field and 4-of-4 from behind the arc.
As a team the Rangers had one of their most efficient nights of the season, shooting 53.7 percent from the floor as well as 46.2 percent from the three-point line. Northwestern was able to consistently take advantage of the turnovers their defense was able to force, netting 21 points off of turnovers. Ouachita was able to gain the edge in the paint as evidenced by their 33 rebounds to Northwestern's 24, and 32 points in the paint compared to the black-and-red's 24.
The Rangers led by as many as seven points in the ball game, the most either team would lead all night, at the 10:42 mark in the first half. The lead would then bounce back and forth all the way until the half with Northwestern eventually taking a 32-31 advantage into the locker rooms.
The second half was even tighter than the first half of action as both teams were plagued by turnovers and fouls. Ouachita shot 63 percent in the half to keep themselves in the ball game and eventually pull ahead. The Rangers found themselves down just 71-70 with 34 seconds left following a lay-up from center
Austin Klug, but a lay-up from Tiger stand-out Lakee Henderson with 12 seconds left essentially ended the Rangers chances at a road victory.
Northwestern will look to pick up their first conference win on Saturday afternoon against Henderson State in Arkadelphia, Ark. with tip-off set for 3 p.m.Â
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