Arkadelphia, Arkansas - Northwestern Oklahoma State Rangers faced Henderson State Reddies in a conference matchup Saturday. The Reddies took a double digit lead at halftime before a 14-0 run put Henderson State in control and closed out a 96-70 win over the Rangers.
Northwestern Oklahoma State falls to 6-8 on the season with a 3-5 conference record while Henderson State improves to 11-3 with a 7-1 conference record.
The Rangers were led by Camron McDowell and Max Alexander as the only two double figure scorers as McDowell led with 23 points and Alexander at 19.
Max Alexander opened the scoring in the game with a steal leading to a fast break layup and the early lead. Henderson State answered after a two minute opening game scoring drought. Kabeya Tshibangu put the Rangers in front starting a 9-2 run as the Rangers went out in front 11-6 after a McDowell three pointer for the lead at the first media timeout.
Henderson State out of the break though answered with a 9-0 run to regain the lead from the Rangers at 15-11. It was McDowell that ended the run with a layup before the Rangers battled back to take a 19-17 lead on a three point basket by Justin Norris. Teams battled trading baskets before Henderson State took a 24-23 lead right before the media timeout.
Out of the break Henderson State slowly started building their lead as Henderson State led 34-29 following the run out of the break following a steal and a layup by Matthew Mayes in front of Wesley. Dirin Birhiray buried a three pointer to keep the Rangers within five points before Henderson State stretched their lead to double digits at 49-39 right before the half.
Rondae Hill of Henderson State finished a layup to answer a Jackson Feely foul shot as the Rangers went into the break down 49-39.
After halftime McDowell hit a running layup started by a Justin Norris rebound as the Rangers looked to climb back in the game getting the deficit under 10. Henderson State continued to hold the 10 point lead though to 53-43 at the media timeout. Henderson State went on a 12-0 run to take a 65-43 lead over the Rangers holding Northwestern scoreless for four minutes before a Logan Phillips steal lead to a fast break layup from Alexander.
Henderson State held the 20 point lead into the 10 minute mark of the half. It grew to its largest of the half at the 8:37 mark for a 74-51 lead after a Spencer three pointer. The largest lead grew to 30 at the time before reaching 32 with two minutes left.
Kyler Penco scored the final six points for the Rangers as the final score was 96-70 over the Rangers as Henderson State closed out the victory over Northwestern.
Northwestern Oklahoma State returns home to face Arkansas Monticello for the first of three straight games at home. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 against Arkansas Monticello.
