ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – Northwestern Oklahoma State men's basketball suffered another setback in Arkansas Saturday when they took a 65-63 loss at the hands of Henderson State. After taking a narrow lead into halftime, the Rangers found themselves trailing by 11 midway through the second half before fighting back to tie the game in the final minute.

The Reddies' Chris Parker knocked down a go ahead 19-footer with just 4.8 seconds remaining, leaving the Rangers with one shot at tying it up. Brandon Green took the inbounds pass and sprinted the length of the floor, but his game saving layup attempt at the buzzer was thwarted when Brad Nairn blocked the shot up near the rim.

Henderson State's defense showed up time and time again, holding Ranger shooters to just 39 percent from the field while recording eight blocked shots and nine steals. Northwestern did lead on three different occasions but couldn't keep the Reddies from taking the lead right back.

A'keem Oglesby was a bright spot in the Ranger lineup as the 6'0 junior connected on 5-of-6 from three-point land, good for a season-high 19 points in the contest. Greg Minor Jr. added 13 points and two steals in the effort.

The Reddies finished the game shooting 44 percent from the field, converting on 24-of-55 attempts. Henderson, the top free throw shooting team in the GAC, was successful on 13-of-16 shots from the charity stripe for 81 percent.

After dropping three of their last four games, head coach Shawn Dirden and his Rangers will face a tough task of limiting the Great American Conference's top scoring offense (87.9 PPG) in Arkansas Tech. The matchup should be a good one as Northwestern currently sits third in the GAC as far as defense, holding opponents to just 72.2 PPG.

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Northwestern will return home for two games next weekend when they welcome in the Wonder Boys on Thursday and Harding University on Saturday. The Rangers dropped a hard-fought game in Russellville earlier in the season, erasing a 21-point second half deficit to come back within three before falling 86-83. The re-match is set for a 7:30 tip-off from Percefull Fieldhouse.

The Rangers will then play host to Harding on Hall of Fame Saturday, where three former Ranger legends will be inducted into the Northwestern Oklahoma State University Hall of Fame. Keith Baxter (Baseball, Football), Mark Buck (Football, Track & Field) and Chandler Mead (Football) will all be honored at halftime for their outstanding achievements in a Ranger uniform. Game time is slated for 3 p.m.

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