Men's Basketball November 01, 2019 Madison Parrott, Athletic Communications

Northwestern Men’s Basketball 2019-2020 Season Preview

ALVA, Okla.- Northwestern Oklahoma State men's basketball is ready for the 2019-2020 season to be underway. Both returners and new faces alike are ready to take the next step as the season is right around the corner.

After a disappointing season with an 8-20 record, Patel plans to refocus the Rangers towards a new goal and allow them to make it back to the Great American Conference tournament. With a plethora of talent coming from last season and extremely talented new players and coaches alike have extremely high hopes.

The Rangers will open their season Nov. 8 against Northeastern Oklahoma State University as part of the GAC/MIAA/NSIC Challenge crossover tournament which will take place in Percefull Fieldhouse as Northwestern hosts.

GAC play is set to begin Nov. 21 as the Rangers head to Bethany to face back-to-back GAC Champions Southern Nazarene before heading to Shawnee, Okla. for a showdown with Oklahoma Baptist. Long-time rivals Southwestern Oklahoma State come to town Feb. 13.

Head Coach Vinay Patel is ready to take advantage of his first season as the Ranger's head coach and is assisted by Jordan Franz. Graduate assistant Elijah Christman and graduate manager Kolby White round out the Black-and-Red staff.

"We are very excited about the upcoming season," exclaimed Patel. "Our guys have been working extremely hard to prepare themselves for this season. I want to personally thank our Associate Head Coach, Jordan Franz, for the hard work that he has put in daily to help prepare our team."

The Rangers have returning starters such as A.J. Jones who averaged 7.7 points a game and had 216 points, 171 assists, and 62 steals last season, and leading scorer Jack Peck who averaged 13.4 points a game with 42.6 three-point percentage and a team leading 361 points last season.

Northwestern also brings back Bryshon Bryant, Cole Jones, Eric Andres Jr., Andrew Clopton and Bryce Cashman who added important minutes in last years season.

"The Great American Conference is a very competitive conference and we have several returners back that understand how challenging it is to win on any given night. We are hoping that their experience along with some new faces are going to help us continue to improve," Coach Patel stated.

Easily meshing with these starters are some new faces that have joined the Ranger program. These transfers include Parrish Hewitt, from University of Tennessee at Martin, who is coming back from an injury last season. Nathan Bailey III, a junior transfer from Lamar State Port Arthur, had 367 points and 34 steals and averaged 11.5 points per game.

Other new faces include Clive Allen, a red-shirt junior transfer from Daytona State College and Jaedon Whitfield, a senior transfer from Oklahoma Panhandle State.

The Rangers were picked to finish second to last (eleventh) in the GAC pre-season poll, with a 25-point total. They sit just below Harding (28) and above rivals Southwestern Oklahoma State (13).

"Our goal is to get better every day with each practice and each game. This team has a lot of potential and I know our staff is excited to see us grow and come together as a team," said Patel when asked about the team's goals.

For the latest news and updates on NWOSU Men's Basketball, follow @NWOSUAthletics on TWITTER or visit www.riderangersride.com.

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Players Mentioned

#12 Eric Andres Jr.: F; 6' 5"; Redshirt Senior

#23 Bryshon Bryant: F; 6' 6"; Senior

#11 Bryce Cashman: C; 6' 11"; Redshirt Senior

#5 Andrew Clopton: G; 6' 3"; Sophomore

#3 A.J. Jones: G; 6' 0"; Senior

#24 Cole Jones: G; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#10 Jack Peck: G; 6' 4"; Redshirt Junior

#1 Clive Allen: G; 6' 0"; Redshirt Junior

#20 Nathan Bailey III: G/F; 6' 6"; Junior

#4 Parrish Hewitt: G; 6' 3"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#12 Eric Andres Jr.
: 6' 5"; Redshirt Senior
: F

#23 Bryshon Bryant
: 6' 6"; Senior
: F

#11 Bryce Cashman
: 6' 11"; Redshirt Senior
: C

#5 Andrew Clopton
: 6' 3"; Sophomore
: G

#3 A.J. Jones
: 6' 0"; Senior
: G

#24 Cole Jones
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: G

#10 Jack Peck
: 6' 4"; Redshirt Junior
: G

#1 Clive Allen
: 6' 0"; Redshirt Junior
: G

#20 Nathan Bailey III
: 6' 6"; Junior
: G/F

#4 Parrish Hewitt
: 6' 3"; Junior
: G