ALVA, Okla. – With their sights set on making a push into the conference tournament next month, the Rangers hosted East Central in a crucial in-state showdown. Despite keeping it close in the first half, Northwestern would drop the game 89-74.

In a game that featured the top two scorers in the Great American Conference, the stage was set for an offensive shootout that featured Ranger forward Adrian Motley (19.1 PPG) and East Central guard Braxton Reeves (22.6 PPG), who went toe-to-toe in an important home date in Northwestern's quest to secure a post-season berth.  

With East Central sitting comfortably as the third seed in the GAC conference tournament, the Tigers were looking to squash any chance of Ranger hope for the playoffs. Having won the last meeting back on January 21, the Rangers planned on upsetting the Tigers once again, this time in the friendly confines of Percefull Fieldhouse.

But East Central had different plans as they handed Northwestern their second straight loss.

Reeves wasted no time showing why he's been the most dominant player in the conference this season, connecting on three deep three-balls in the opening two minutes to give the Tigers an early advantage.

But the Rangers were able to answer the deficit with back-to-back three's from redshirt sophomore Zachary Dumas to make it a 17-14 ECU lead. Motley then gave Northwestern its first lead of the game at the midway point of the first half after he drained a spinning hook-shot from 10 feet to make it 24-22 Rangers.

East Central took a 45-31 advantage into halftime, shooting a remarkable 62.1 percent from the field in the opening frame. The Rangers were unable to stop the 6'4 Fort Worth, Texas native, as Reeves dropped 19 points in the first half. Camron Talley added 11 points and a steal for the Tigers.

Dumas and Motley each had eight points in the half for Northwestern, who found themselves trailing by 14 at the break.

East Central picked up right where they left off in the second half, extending their lead to 20 eight minutes into the half. Although the Rangers escaped Ada with an 83-71 victory in their first meeting, the sequel produced a much different outcome for the black-and-red.

Adrian Motley sent a charge through Percefull Fieldhouse when he threw down monster dunk over top of KD Moore, inciting some pushing and shoving from both sides. When the dust settled, the Rangers went on a nice run to cut the Tigers lead to 13. But ECU kept their foot on the gas pedal for the better part of the second half, not allowing any Ranger momentum.

While Reeves cooled off in the second half, Talley took over. The freshman shooter, who is second in the GAC in three-pointers, finished the game with 00 points in the win.

The story of the game was the Tigers efficient offense, connecting on 60 percent of field goals as they went 12-for-20 from beyond the arc. The Rangers still shot an impressive 45.6 percent from the field, but just couldn't gain any momentum in the second half.

Motley finished the game with a team-high 25 points, adding seven rebounds, a steal and a block. Brandon Green had 11 points in the contest on 5-for-7 shooting to go along with his eight assists.

Up Next

The Rangers will look to keep their slim post-season hopes alive when they hit the road on Saturday, Feb. 18 to face Oklahoma Baptist. That game will tip-off at 3:00 p.m.

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