BETHANY, Okla. - The Ranger Men's Basketball team traveled to Southern Nazarene to take on the Crimson Storm for a Saturday afternoon matchup. With Northwestern coming off wins over Southern Arkansas and Southeastern Oklahoma State, the Rangers have been looking to make a push for the post-season. They certainly helped their cause, taking down the GAC's fifth place team.

Southern Nazarene entered Saturday's game having won back to back contests over Southwestern Oklahoma State and a dominant 33-point win over Harding in Searcy. The Rangers stepped up defensively in the opening half, holding the talented Crimson Storm shooters 11-for-27 in the frame. The Rangers went on a 21-8 run to end the half and took a 39-25 lead into the break.

Leading Ranger scorer Adrian Motley recorded a double-double in the win, notching a game-high 21 points while pulling down 12 boards. Motley made another revision in the Northwestern record books as he passed Craig "Sleepy" Blake for 6th on the schools all-time scoring leader board. 

Strong play in the paint by Austin Klug pushed the Northwestern lead to 18 early in the second half. Klug opened the frame with a dunk off a pass from Brandon Green, then followed it up with a block and a layup to give the Rangers their largest lead of the game (18 points). 

A big story in this one was the Rangers ability to shut down SNU's perimeter shooting. Southern Nazarene was held to just 3-of-15 shooting from three-point range, its lowest mark of the season. But despite the lack of outside shots, the Crimson Storm managed to ride a 14-3 run to cut the Ranger lead to eight with 5:17 to play. Northwestern fought through a scare when back-to-back turnovers by Green and Motley in the closing minute allowed SNU to make it a 65-64 advantage for the Rangers

Greg Minor Jr. closed it out by hitting both of his free throws, ending any threat of a Crimson Storm comeback bid. 

Southern Nazarene held Northwestern to just 21-for-59 from the field, but the Rangers dropped nine 3-pointers (including five from Motley) and went 16-for-20 at the line. The Rangers 35.6 percent from the field marks their lowest shooting percentage in a win this season, one that can be attributed in part to hitting 80 percent of their chances from the charity stripe. 

Up Next

Northwestern will have a short rest before heading down to Weatherford on Monday, February 13 for the second half of the Great American Conference's Rivalry Night series. The Rangers will look to take down Southwestern Oklahoma State for the second time this season, after handling the Bulldogs in an 86-75 win inside Percefull Fieldhouse January 16. Tip-off for Monday night's game is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Pioneer Cellular Events Center. 

For the latest news and updates on Ranger Basketball, follow @NWOSUAthletics on Twitter or visit www.riderangersride.com.