NWOSU vs. HU
89
Northwestern Okla. NW 5-12,2-9 GAC
90
Winner Harding Hard 7-10,2-9 GAC
Northwestern Okla. NW
5-12,2-9 GAC
89
Final
90
Harding Hard
7-10,2-9 GAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 F
Northwestern Okla. NW 39 41 9 89
Harding Hard 35 45 10 90

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Madison Parrott, Athletic Communications

Northwestern Drops Tough Loss in Searcy

SEARCY, Ark.– Northwestern Oklahoma State University dropped a tough loss to Harding Thursday evening in Searcy, Ark. The Rangers jumped to a quick start in the first half and held the lead throughout, but the Bisons rallied back to tie the game and send it into overtime. Harding was able to snag the win in the final seconds of OT with a final score of 90-89. This was a tough battle with the score tied 12 different times and seven lead changes. Northwestern's offense was led by Jaedon Whitfield who tallied 23 points and eight rebounds while going 11-12 from the free throw line. 
 
Other stand-out Rangers included Parrish Hewitt who continues to play well with 19 points and six rebounds. Jack Peck tallied 14 of his own with three rebounds. Clive Allen led the team in assists with five.
 
The Rangers needed to start out hot in order to change the momentum that they had been riding, with consistently better second halves. The intentions were clear as the Red-and-Black jumped on the board quickly with a score of 10-3 led by Nathan Bailey III. As the game continued NWOSU were able to consistently lead the Bisons throughout most of the first half. Whitfield seemed to be unstoppable inside the paint which opened up the outside for Hewitt and Peck to tack on more points. With six minutes left on the board Northwestern earned a fourteen-point lead, but Harding fought back as the Rangers went into halftime with a four-point advantage, 39-35.
 
Northwestern held onto their lead for the beginning of the second half until around the ten-minute mark when a rally began from Harding as they tied the game at 58-58. Free-throws kept the Ranger lead until there was only six minutes left in the half and the back-and-forth battle began as both teams traded leads. In the final seconds of regulation, a last-minute effort from the Bisons landed them a three-point bucket to tie the game 80-80 which led to an overtime battle.
 
Harding came screaming out the gate during overtime and reached their highest lead of the game with a score of 87-82 in the Bisons favor. The Red-and-Black were not done as back-to-back buckets from Hewitt tied the game 87-87 with a little over a minute left on the clock. Unfortunately, a final second buzzer-beater from Hewitt did not fall and the Rangers take the loss to the Bisons with a score of 90-89 as the final.
 
Northwestern's bench tallied only 25 points compared to Harding's 40 which helped the Bisons stay in the game. The Rangers did, however, lead in points off of turnovers with 19 to Harding's 13. The Red-and-Black out-rebounded Harding 36 to their 33 and tallied a 51.7 shooting percentage from the field for the entire game.
 
The Rangers will continue their stay in Arkansas with a trip to Russellville, Ark. to take on Arkansas Tech. Tip-off will begin at 3:00 p.m. following the Lady Rangers game Saturday afternoon.

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