ALVA, OKLAHOMA - Northwestern won their second straight game Saturday afternoon behind an 85-70 victory over the Wonder Boys on a memorable afternoon following the induction of four new members into the Ranger Hall of Fame.. Rangers came out fast with forcing two straight turnovers turning into fast break points in a game the Rangers never trailed.
Northwestern's win improves the team to 9-8 overall with a 5-8 Great American Conference record.
Larry White led the team with his season high of 27 points after going 11-11 from the foul line. Malik Parson was second with 26 points followed by Brian Free with 18 as the three Ranger double figure scorers.
FIRST HALF:Â
 The Rangers came out fast on Saturday afternoon forcing back-to-back live ball turnovers as the Ranger offense took advantage with two straight fast breaks first with a dunk by Larry White followed by a layup by Malik Parsons. Arkansas Tech hit their first shot a minute into the game. White responded with a layup off of a defensive rebound, pushing the lead back to four at 6-2. Following another Tech turnover White capitalized by knocking down a corner three pointer to take a 9-2 lead. Jason Douglas-Stanley followed White's three pointer with one of his own. A layup from Douglas-Stanley pushed the Ranger lead to double digits for the first time of the afternoon. After a Tech three pointer to cut into the Ranger lead Northwestern responded with four straight pushing the lead to 22-9 before a scoring drought by both teams.Â
The defensive pace picked up as the game went scoreless for two and a half minutes before a Parsons layup off of a Butters offensive rebound extended the Ranger lead to 22-9.Arkansas Tech scored five straight to cut the Northwestern lead down to eight at 25-17 but a Brian Free three pointer quickly put an end to the run sending the lead back to double digits. Parsons followed with a three of his own as Northwestern led 31-19 with 6:17 left to play in the half. After a two minute scoring drought the Wonder Boys knocked down three straight points to cut their deficit back to eight. As Tech got within seven it was Brian Free again with his third three pointer of the opening half sending the lead back to 39-27 with 1:04 remaining in the half.Â
Arkansas Tech drilled a three pointer by Peter at the halftime buzzer as the Rangers then led 41-33 at halftime over the Wonder Boys.
Second Half:Â
Arkansas Tech kept their run going with the first four points of the second half as Northwestern now led 41-37 in the early going. White ended the run with two foul shots. Before Parsons made a fast break layup following a Brian Free steal. The Rangers held an eight point lead following two foul shots by Larry White but the lead was cut to six right before the first media timeout of the half.Â
A Larry White three pointer pushed the Ranger to lead to the largest of the half to that point 54-45 with 14:23 remaining in the game. The lead remained at nine following a three pointer from Brian Free. At the halfway point of the second half Northwestern held a seven point lead following two foul shots by White.Â
Arkansas Tech made their largest attempt at a comeback following two foul shots and a 6-0 run as they cut the Ranger lead down to three at 64-61. The lead went back to five before Arkansas Tech got as close as they would get at 69-67 with 2:56 remaining before Northwestern closed the game on 16-3 run to win by 15 85-70. A Brian Free three sparked the run as a block by white on the defensive end led to a parsons rebound in a fast break layup. Malik Parsons helped close the game out at the line knocking down six straight in the closing minute of the game. Parsons had back to back dunks on fast breaks following the foul shots to seal the victory over Arkansas Tech.Â
Northwestern will hit the road for two games in Arkansas next week starting at Arkansas Monticello before finishing in Magnolia against Southern Arkansas.Â
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