ALVA, Okla. – Northwestern Oklahoma State men's basketball rallied in the late stages of the game to take down Emporia State 72-71 for their fifth straight victory on Wednesday. Treyvon Andres battled for a physical bucket with just 1.3 seconds remaining, propelling the Rangers over yet another MIAA team this season.

Inbounding with just 26.8 seconds left, head coach Shawn Dirden drew up a play with hopes of breaking a 70-70 deadlock before the buzzer. After a missed layup and a blocked dunk, the ball made its way back to Andres who was able to finish with 1.3 seconds remaining. With a one second difference between the shot clock and the game clock, the horn sounded to (erroneously) indicate a shot-clock violation that was mistaken for the final horn. As officials were conferring at center court, the Hornet's Brandon Hall hit a half-court three pointer to send White Auditorium into mass confusion.

After a fifteen minute video review, officials ruled that the Rangers had made their basket and that the clock would be reset to 1.3 seconds. The Ranger bench was issued a technical foul for running on the court, resulting in a made free throw from Hall to make it a 72-71 Ranger advantage. Northwestern defended the hail-mary pass to hang on.

Junior Treyvon Andres picked up a season-high 22 points in the win. The 6'7" center pulled down eight boards and swatted three blocks in 36 minutes on the floor. The Ranger offense shot an efficient 44.6 percent from the field, and was a perfect 16-for-16 from the charity stripe.

Although it was a back-and-forth opening, the first half saw ­four lead changes with the Hornets grabbing a seven point advantage. But the Rangers were able to maintain pressure on Emporia State and cut the deficit to just two at the intermission. Halvorson had the pull-up jumper working for him as the senior guard hit three shots from beyond-the-arc in the opening half, all in transition. Halvorson finished with 14 points and was 3-for-3 from the free throw line.

The Rangers win against ESU marks their third non-conference victory against an MIAA opponent this season after beating Northeastern State and the University of Central Oklahoma to open the 2017-18 season.

Up Next
The Rangers will take advantage of the Thanksgiving break with an eight day layoff before returning to action on Thursday, Nov. 30 when they take on Great American Conference foe Harding University in Searcy, Ark. Northwestern will then continue on to Russellville, Ark. On Saturday, Dec. 30 to face the Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys.
For the latest news and updates on Ranger Basketball, follow @NWOSUAthletics on TWITTER or visit www.riderangersride.com