ALVA, OKLAHOMA - Northwestern Oklahoma State Men's basketball faced Oklahoma Baptist in a 98-87 loss Saturday afternoon. Oklahoma Baptist used a strong to the second half hitting back-to-back three-pointers setting up a 12-point lead before closing out the 11-point win.

Northwestern drops to 12-12 on the season with a 9-9 conference record. Oklahoma Baptist improves to 16-8 on the season. 

The Rangers had three 20+ point scorers in the loss Saturday led by Camron McDowell with 29 points followed by Max Alexander with 24, and DaRaun Clark at 21 who hit five three-pointers. Clark added five steals in the game along with three assists. Kabeya Tshibangu had 10 rebounds for a game-high. 

The Rangers held the Bison scoreless in the first three minutes of the game as Northwestern jumped out to a 4-0 lead on baskets by Tshibangu and Alexander in the early going of the game. Oklahoma Baptist took advantage of an offensive rebound before knocking down their first three of the game to give the Bison a 5-4 lead. An 8-0 run by the Rangers set up a 13-7 lead after DaRaun Clark had back-to-back points turning his steal into a fast break dunk.

It was an Ethan Scott three-pointer that silenced the Rangers run getting the Bison back within three points at 13-10. Northwestern held the three-point lead trade baskets to the 7:44 mark of the first half after a Tshibangu offensive rebound put back to put the Rangers in front 23-20 the Bison hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 23-23. 

This sparked a 14-1 run by the Bison who had six different players score on the run that pushed their lead into a 10-point advantage at 34-24, after forcing the Rangers into two turnovers. Before halftime, the Rangers were able to get back within four points at 38-34 before a last-second put-back shot for the Bison pushed them up six at 40-34 at the halftime break. 

Oklahoma Baptist hit a three-pointer from Ricky Brown to start the second half followed by a second straight triple to push their lead to 46-34. Ricky Brown scored the first eight points for the Bison in the second half as the visitors held an 11-point lead at 50-39 with 17 minutes left in the game. 

The Bison followed with a 9-0 run with five points from Ransom as the Bison pushed their lead to 18 at 57-39 before a Tshibangu dunk ended their run and cut the Ranger deficit to 57-41. Oklahoma Baptist's lead got to as many as 19 points at 68-49 with 9:13 left in the game. 

After a Liam Canty dunk, Clark hit back-to-back three-pointers trying to get the Rangers back in the game trailing 70-57. McDowell got the Rangers back within 10 points at 78-70 with 4:30 left in the game, as the closest the Rangers could get to was five at 80-75 before a Ransom three-pointer pushed the deficit back to eight points. 

The Bison closed out the 11-point victory over the Rangers Saturday with a final score of 98-87. 

Northwestern will have the next three games on the road starting with a trip to Arkansas. The Rangers will face Southern Arkansas on Thursday evening with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 against the Muleriders.