ALVA, Oklahoma- The Northwestern Oklahoma State basketball team looks to bounce back Thursday evening after their loss from Monday night to Southwestern. The Rangers will return to play against Great American Conference foe the Tigers of East Central. 

"We are excited to get another chance to compete.  East Central is a very well coached team and are coming off of a huge win Monday.  They are very efficient offensively and score inside and out", Northwestern head coach Vinay Patel on game.

The Tigers come into this game as the second highest-scoring team in the conference this season with 83.1 points per game through their first seven games behind Southwestern's 89.1 per game. The Rangers will look to take advantage on the offensive side of the ball as well. ECU is ranked 12th in the GAC as they allow the most points per game as their opponents are averaging 89 points per game. 

Northwestern comes into this game with a 2-2 overall record and 0-2 record in the Great American Conference, after beating Oklahoma Panhandle State University and Randall University to start this season then falling to Southwestern and Southern Nazarene.

"I'm anxious to see our team back on the floor. We have had a lot to work on in very little time.  We will continue to improve and work to grow as our team" stated Ranger head coach Patel.

Patel continues his second season at the helm, with a 12-20 record as the Rangers coach and an overall 100-76 collegiate record. 

The Rangers' led by senior guard Deon Barrett, enters the game averaging 14.5 points a game and leads the team in assists with 21 through four games. Parrish Hewitt enters the game second on the team with 13.5 points per game on 40% shooting from the field. Bubba Furlong enters Thursday night just shy of a double-double as he currently leads the team in rebounds with 13.0 per game while averaging nine points a night for the Rangers. Furlong has helped lead the Rangers to be the best rebounding team so far in the GAC. Furlong also leads the league in rebounds per game with his 13 and blocked shots with 14 for 3.5 per game. 

East Central:

The Tigers will come into Percefull Fieldhouse Thursday evening with a 3-4 record in the conference and overall season. The 3-4 team record puts them fourth in the Western Division for the Great American Conference.

East Central is led by head coach Chris Crutchfield who is in the middle of his first season with Tigers after serving as an associate coach for Arkansas last season. 

East Central comes into the game 1-2 in their last three games, including a double-overtime thriller over Southeastern, a 103-102 victory on Monday night.

The Tigers come into this game with four double-digit scorers. Their top score is Jalen Crutchfield at 17.5 points, followed by Tylor Arnold at 15.4, Josh Apple 13.6 and Jakeem Acres at 10.4 points. With the two leaders, J. Crutchfield and Arnold are shooting 45% from beyond the arc. Apple leads the team in rebounding with seven rebounds per game. Brennen Burns leads the team with three assists per game. 

History: 

The Red-and-Black and Tiger history between the two teams has been pretty even recently. In the last three seasons, these two teams are 3-3 against each other after a season split just a year ago as each team won on the road. The Rangers win coming most recently back in February with an 84-76 win, where Hewitt led the team with 18 points. 

 Team Comparison: