FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS - Northwestern Oklahoma State opened the Great American Conference Men's tournament Thursday afternoon, as the Tigers used a 9-0 run to extend their lead to 18 points before closing out the 80-60 victory over the Rangers.
Northwestern ends the season with a 14-15 record overall as Ouachita Baptist improves to 22-7 on the year.
The Rangers were led in scoring by Camron McDowell with 27 points and Alexander with 15 points as the Rangers' two double-figure scorers. Justin Norris led the team with nine rebounds in the game. Alexander had three assists. DaRaun Clark and McDowell led with three steals.
McDowell opened the scoring, hitting a three-pointer to start the game at 3-0, before Reggie Martin scored for the Tigers. DaRaun Clark followed with a three-pointer to take a 6-2 lead. After the Rangers held the four-point lead, the Tigers answered back with an 8-0 run started by two Shaun Williams three-pointers off a turnover as the Rangers then trailed 10-8.
Northwestern reclaimed the lead on a basket by McDowell, who scored five straight at 13-12. Belton started the next run for the Tigers, though this time, a 9-0 run put Ouachita Baptist up by eight at 21-13. McDowell ended their run at 21-15 with 10:21 left in the half.
The Tigers stretched their lead to double digits for the first time at 25-15. The run stretched to 7-0, the largest first-half lead at 28-15. PJ Neal continued to push the lead for the Tigers after a defensive rebound fast break pushed the Tigers lead to 40-24. Justin Norris drilled a jump at the foul line to close out the opening half as the Rangers trailed by 15 at the break.
The Rangers started the second half with a steal by Clark, leading to a Max Alexander jump shot followed by a Kabeya Tshibangu floating jump shot as the Rangers went on a quick 4-0 run to start the half. The Rangers kept it at 11 after a put-back tip-in from Tshibangu.Â
The Tigers then stretched their lead to 18 after a run started by Grayson and ending with a Martin layup as the Rangers trailed 56-38. Jackson Feely drilled a three pointer assisted by Alexander to end the Tigers' run. The defenses picked up as the Rangers were held scoreless for three minutes but Northwestern's defense forcing three turnovers kept the Tigers scoreless as well.
It was McDowell who ended the scoring drought with two points, but Grayson answered with two as well. Northwestern led by Alexander went on a run cutting the deficit back down to 11 with 3:59 left in the game at 67-56 but Mj Leslie hit a three pointer as the Tigers took their lead back to 16 points.
Ouachita Baptist closed out the win with a 7-0 run to take the quarterfinals matchup over the Rangers 80-60 and move to the semifinals game on Saturday.
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