OBU L
64
Winner Okla. Baptist OB 4-3,1-0 GAC
60
Northwestern Okla. NW 4-2,0-1 GAC
Winner
Okla. Baptist OB
4-3,1-0 GAC
64
Final
60
Northwestern Okla. NW
4-2,0-1 GAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Okla. Baptist OB 38 26 64
Northwestern Okla. NW 19 41 60

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Second Half Comeback Bid Fall Short in Loss to Oklahoma Baptist

Alva, Oklahoma- Northwestern opened conference play Thursday night to Oklahoma Baptist 64-60. The Bison used a solid first half opening a 38-19 lead to help carry them to victory as they would hold on with a four-point win.

The Rangers' four-game win streak was snapped with the loss as they fall to 4-2 on the year and 0-1 in conference play as Oklahoma Baptist improves to 4-3 with a 1-0 conference record.

"I'm really proud of the fight our guys showed in the second half.  We could have easily folded after the first half, but we battled all the way back to make it a one possession game with a minute to go.  Give OBU a lot of credit, they executed down the stretch at a high clip" head basketball coach Vinay Patel stated following the game.

Brian Free led the Rangers with 17 points on the evening as one of three double figure scorers followed by Larry White and Malik Parsons with 16 and 13, respectively. White led the team in rebounding with eight on the night, followed by Free with seven. The Rangers had three players tied with two assists each to lead the team. Jason Douglas-Stanley, Parsons, and Bubba Furlong.

Northwestern opened the game with an alley-oop to start the game and get on the board first. After each team traded baskets to start the game, the two defenses picked up fast. The next field goal would not be made until the 17:50 mark of the first half. The Rangers held a 9-7 advantage at the first media timeout as White led the way with four points in the opening five minutes.

The score was knotted at 9-9 when Free buried a three to regain the lead out of the timeout. The Bison would gain some control on the game following a 16-2 run over five minutes in the first half to take a double-digit lead at 25-14. The Bison defense would force the Rangers to six minutes without a point as their lead grew to 27-16 with 5:41 left to play in the opening half. White would hit a jump shot to end the Bison run. Oklahoma Baptist would grow their lead to as many as 19 in the first half, following a shot by Simms taking a 38-19 lead. Those points were the final ones of the half as the Bison would take the 19 point lead into the break.

Simms opened the second half with a three-pointer to push the Bison lead over 20 at 41-19. A Furlong layup started the Northwestern run to climb back into the game. The Rangers would complete a 13-0 run over four minutes into the under 16:00 media timeout. White led the way with nine points on the run as the Rangers as a team would shoot 6-8 on offense, with the defense forcing two turnovers on steals. A White foul shot pushed the deficit back under ten as the Rangers trailed 41-32.

The defensive intensity would pick up as both teams would go into a four-minute scoring drought. Each team would have two turnovers each through that span. The Bison ended the drought, pushing their lead back to 11. The Bison grew their lead back to 14 at 50-36 with just over eight minutes to play in the game. A 10-4 run closed off by Parson would cut the deficit back under ten at 54-46. Free led the way with four points helping the Rangers shoot 5 of 9 from the field on the run. Free would then hit back-to-back three-pointers to get the Rangers within five at 59-54 with 2:37 to play. A Parson's three would cut the deficit to one at 59-58; the closest Northwestern was since the opening half. This was as close as the Rangers would get as the Bison would knock down four straight foul shots and close out the win with a 64-60 victory over the Rangers.

"We don't have time to feel sorry for ourselves.  This is conference play, and we hit the road tomorrow.  Hopefully we can learn from the mistakes we made tonight and continue to take steps improving as a team.  I'm anxious to see how we respond the next time we hit the floor" stated head coach Vinay Patel

Northwestern will return to play on Saturday, December 4th, as the Rangers travel to Ada, Oklahoma, to take on East Central. The men's game will tip-off at 3:00 PM, following the 1:00 PM start from the Lady Rangers game.

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