DURANT, Okla. – A nine-point Ranger advantage after 20 minutes took a turn for the worse in the second half as the Northwestern Oklahoma State men's basketball team suffered an 81-61 setback at Southeastern Oklahoma State University Saturday.

A red-hot first half for the Rangers yielded 61 percent (17-for-28) shooting from the field as they closed on an 11-4 run to give Northwestern a 39-31 edge at the break. The red-and-black out-rebounded Southeastern 32-28 including seven offensive boards in the opening half while Joseph Moorer knocked down a trio of improbable buckets in the as he picked up 10 of his 14 points in the frame.

The Savage Storm (6-1, 3-1 GAC) were loaded with confidence following a 76-43 dismantling of No. 5 Southern Nazarene two days earlier while Northwestern (2-6, 1-2 GAC) entered the matchup looking to turn things around following a four-point loss to Newman earlier in the week.

But the Savage Storm found their stroke in the second half and shot 51 percent from the floor to hand Northwestern its second straight loss. Despite the fast start in the opening half, Northwestern's shooters connected on just 8-of-22 shots (36 percent) in the second half allowing Southeastern to extend the lead.

Bryce Cashman had 14 points of his own going 4-of-6 from the field and 6-for-8 from the charity stripe. Treyvon Andres pulled down a team-high eight boards and had two blocked shots. Northwestern turned the ball over 19 times compared to only eight giveaways from the Savage Storm.

The Rangers will get an extended break from live-game action for the holidays before returning to Percefull Fieldhouse Sunday, December 30 for a non-conference matchup against the Emporia State University Hornets.

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