SHAWNEE, Okla. – The Rangers battled as the game was knotted at 69 a piece but the Bison finished the game on a 14-2 run to win 83-71.
Junior guard, Parrish Hewitt led the Rangers charge with 17 points, being one of four players in double figures. Hewitt was followed by Jaedon Whitfield who had 12 points, Clive Allen, and Jack Peck both finished with 11.
Northwestern was out rebounded 23-20 along with 7-6 offensively. This turned out to be costly as Oklahoma Baptist won the second chance points 13-4. The Rangers committed 26 fouls allowing the Bison to make 21 free throws in the game.
Both teams came out firing in this game trading basket after basket. There were six lead changes in the first six minutes of the game along with three ties. It was a 19-20 game with Rangers trailing when a team gained some momentum for the first time. This, however was Oklahoma Baptist though as they went on a 12-0 run to open up a 32-19 lead. It was a Peck three that ended the run as Northwestern tried to make their push back. After trading baskets for sometime the score was 22-36 OBU with 2:53 left in the first half. After a Bison technical foul and a Peck free throw which started a run for the Rangers. From there, Northwestern would close the half on a 9-0 run to bring them with in four at the break 32-36.
The first half both teams shot well, Rangers were 12-of-28 for 43%, but the Bison went 12-for-24 for 50%, including five threes.
The two teams picked up right where they left off in the first half. Constantly trading baskets to open up before the Rangers grabbed their first lead of the half at 15:45 in a 42-41 game. In a 49-48 game a Hewitt dunk started a 9-0 run. This rallied the Rangers to a 58-49 lead with 11:26 remaining in the game. The Bison would have a major response however. Out of the media timeout they would go on a 9-2 run to bring the game back to a one possession game at 60-58. A Bison three, regained the lead for them at the 7:19 mark. Rangers kept battling however as they would never let this game get out of control. A Nathan Bailey III three gave the Rangers 69 and then a Bison free throw had the game tied at 69 with 3:07 to play. The Bison would win the game from there much help coming from the line as they would hit seven of their remaining 13 points at the charity stripe to take control of the game. The final foul foul shot solidified the victory for the Bison at 83-71.
Northwestern would finish the game 24-of-53 for a 45% shooting from the field and 8-for-20 from deep. This hard fought battle displayed 18 lead changes along with eight ties in the game. was a game that featured 11 ties and 18 lead changes.
The loss drops Northwestern on the year to 1-4 and their conference record falls to 0-2. The Rangers will travel to Stephenville, Texas to take on Tarleton State University on Wednesday night at 7:30pm.
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