ALVA,OKLA- Northwestern Oklahoma State will return to play following a week break for the Holiday season. The Rangers will travel to Magnolia Arkansas for a Thursday night game against the Muleriders with tip-off set for 7:30 PM following the conclusion of the Lady Rangers game.

Northwestern (7-3 overall, 2-2 Great American Conference) will look to bounce back with a win following a loss in the last game to Southeastern Oklahoma State. The Red-and-Black have won three of their last four games including two of their last three conference matchups. They will battle against Southern Arkansas (7-3 overall 3-1 GAC) who enters the Thursday evening game on a two game win streak and winners in seven of their last eight games.

The Rangers enter play Thursday looking to continue their offensive success that has the team scoring 81 points per game good for second in the conference. The offense is led by Larry White as one of four players averaging double figures scoring per game. White leads with 14.2 a game on 61 percent shooting for third in conference. Malik Parsons is next with 11.8, Bubba Furlong at 10.8, Brian Free at 10.7. Free leads the team in three point shooting with 24 made three on the year from  43.6% shooting. Northwestern takes advantage on the glass as they rank in the top half of the conference in offensive rebounding per game with 10.8. Northwest is one of the better teams in sharing the ball as they rank second in the conference in assists per game. Furlong and Free lead the team with 25 on the year for 2.5 per game.

Northwestern is ranked fifth in the conference in points allowed per game at 67.5 for a positive scoring margin of 13.5. The Rangers are the best team protecting the rim averaging 5.4 blocks a contest which is good for seventh in the nation. Furlong leads the team averaging 2.6 a game which is first in the conference and sixth in the nation. Rangers are third in the conference in steals with 75 on the season good for 7.5 a game.

Scouting the Muleriders:

Southern Arkansas entered play following two straight wins before the break. They enter play with the second ranked scoring team in the conference only behind Southeastern. Rangers enter the game one behind Southern Arkansas in the conference standings,

The Muleriders are led by Devante Brooks averaging 18 points per game as one of four double figure scores. He is followed by Aaaron Lucas at 13.2, Blake Rogers at 13.1 and Jalen Brooks at 12.0. Rogers leads the team with 24 made threes on 45 percent shooting. Lucas leads the team in assists with 36 to date on the season for 3.6 per game. This helps the team for third overall in the conference in assists per game on the year.

Their offense is mixed wtih solid defense that ranks third in the conference in points allowed at 66.3 per game. They are fifth in block shots per game and second in the conference in steals as they force 17 turnovers a game for the most in the conference. Brooks leads the team with 22 steals on the year followed by Aaron Lucas at 19. Devante Brooks with 13 blocks on the year. 

History:

Northwestern leads the series history between the two teams through 17 games played as the Rangers have won 11 of the 17. The Red-and-Black have won six of the last eight including the last two games after a season series sweep during the 2019-20 season.

Links:

Stats: https://muleriderathletics.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/user/MuleriderSports/videos

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