ALVA, Okla. – It was rivalry night for the Northwestern Oklahoma State men's basketball team as they squared off against long-time foes Southwestern Oklahoma State (4-21, 2-17 GAC) in the second of two matchups this season. Senior Brandon Green dropped 25 points in his eighth and final game against the Bulldogs, leading the Rangers to an 86-77 win in front of a sold-out Percefull Fieldhouse.

 After Cody Halvorson nailed a pull-up three just seven seconds into the game, the Rangers took control and never looked back. The black-and-red went on to lead by as many as 19 in the game shooting 46 percent as a team. Northwestern capped off a strong first half with a 22-5 run to go up 44-27 at the break, aided by a capacity crowd that certainly played a factor.

It was a tale of two different teams with the Rangers headed for the post-season in two weeks' time, while the Bulldogs are in the midst of a disappointing year that saw them drop 14 contests in a row before beating East Central on Friday.

The Rangers were riding high, just two days removed from knocking off #10 Southern Nazarene thanks to Green's second game-winning shot of the weekend. Head coach Shawn Dirden looked to the hot hand of Green early and often as the 6'2 guard out of Houston, Texas went 8-for-10 from the field and 3-for-4 from beyond-the-arc.

As with nearly every game in this storied rivalry, the Bulldogs made sure they didn't go down without a fight. A 19-7 second-half run led by Devin Pugh (20 points) cut Northwestern's lead to just seven with 1:10 remaining, but the Rangers regrouped and held their ground.

Center Treyvon Andres dominated the inside game pulling down 17 rebounds (season-high in the GAC) while picking up another three blocked shots. Andres and Cedric Collinge held SWOSU big man Justin King to just two field goals in his 35 minutes on the floor.

Ranger guards A'keem Oglesby and A.J. Jones tallied 15 points and 13 points respectively, with Jones adding four assists.

With the win, Northwestern moves to 18-6 (14-5 GAC) on the season while improving their record inside Percefull Fieldhouse to a remarkable 12-1 in front of the Ranger faithful.

Up Next
The Rangers will hit the road for their last two regular season games next weekend where they will take on East Central University on Thursday followed by a game at Southeastern Oklahoma State on Saturday afternoon. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. in Ada and can be heard live on the Pulse 105.7 FM.

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