BETHANY, Okla. – Northwestern Oklahoma State men's basketball had their three-game win streak snapped with an 82-73 loss to Southern Nazarene University on Thursday evening. Despite double-digit scoring efforts from five Rangers, Northwestern was unable to recover from a 21-point second half deficit despite a late push, as they move to 9-3 (5-2 GAC) on the season.

Tonight's contest presented an exciting Great American Conference matchup as the second place Rangers took to the road at first place Southern Nazarene. With the conference's best two defensive teams going head-to-head, most were expecting a low scoring battle.

After the Storm built a game high 21-point lead, an 11-0 run midway through the second half allowed the black-and-red to scrape back to within 10. Another 12-3 run by the Rangers cut the SNU lead to just six with 5:19 to play, but any sort of comeback would be denied as SNU was able to close out the game behind a 20-point night from Jhonathan Dunn.

Southern Nazarene's physicality hindered the Rangers' ability to score in the paint, holding junior Treyvon Andres to 3-of-14 shooting. Andres was without a field goal in his first nine shots before knocking down two treys from behind the arc.

The Rangers found themselves in an early hole after their first three possessions resulted in turnovers, allowing SNU to jump out to a quick 8-2 advantage. Behind 6'11 forward Noah Starkey, the Crimson Storm shot 54.8 percent in the half, leading by as many as 16. Starkey finished with 19 points for the Storm.

Northwestern did shoot the ball well in the first going 11-for-22 from the field, but their 12 turnovers coupled with seven blocked shots were enough to give the Crimson Storm a 10-point lead heading into the break.

Three-point specialist Cody Halvorson was held to just eight points (2-for-4, 1-3 3P)

Cedric Collinge picked up 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting before fouling out with 3:16 to play, and was followed shortly thereafter by Greg Minor Jr. who added 11 points in the Ranger effort. Senior guard Brandon Green also had 10 points to go with his four steals.

Up Next
The Rangers will look to regroup as they return home to Percefull Fieldhouse this weekend, welcoming in Oklahoma Baptist on Saturday. Game time is set for 3 p.m. and can be heard live on the Pulse 105.7 FM or streamed at riderangersride.com

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