ARKADELPHIA, Ark.- Northwestern Oklahoma State's men's basketball team was closed out in the closing seconds of the game for the second straight contest, this time against Henderson State.

Senior Adrian Motley's 27 point performance, which moved him into 9^th on the school's all-time scoring list, was not enough to complete a second-half comeback, losing by a final score of 80-77. The Rangers (4-7, 0-6 in GAC) found themselves down by as many as 16 points in the second half before charging back into the ball game.

Motley combined his 27 points with nine rebounds, two assists, and no personal fouls to produce a solid stat line for the Rangers. Junior Cody Halvorson provided 15 points as well on 6-of-14 shooting from the field.

Two nights after a very close contest against Ouachita Baptist, the black-and-red found themselves in another back-and-forth chess match during the first half of action against the Reddies (10-2, 5-1 in GAC). The largest point differential of the first half was just six, with Henderson eventually pulling ahead before the half leading 38-35.

The second half was constant action as both teams picked up the pace on both sides of the ball. A 16-8 run at the 15:18 mark of the half put the Reddies up by a score of 54-42. Henderson State continued to build on that lead and lead by a score of 70-54 with 7:14 left in the game. A 23-7 Northwestern run tied the game up with 37 seconds left to go after a three-point shot from redshirt-freshman Hunter Frisby. That huge shot forced a Henderson State timeout. A costly foul by the Rangers put Reddie Kaylon Tappin at the free-throw line. Tappin connected on both of the free throws with just 11 seconds left, forcing a deep three from Halvorson that missed the mark, sealing the deal for Henderson State.

Northwestern will head back west and prepare to welcome Southern Nazarene to Percefull Fieldhouse on Thursday evening with tip-off set for 7:30 p.m.