By RYAN SHUMAKER
Sports Editor
04The men’s basketball team headed east for two pivotal conference road games and picked up a key win to begin the second half of conference play.
The Rangers first headed to Searcy, Arkansas to face off against the second place Harding Bison and even though the black-and-red had a strong performance from the bench, totaling 30 points, the Rangers lost the contest 84-64. Freshman Zach Dumas had a career day with 21 points while Junior Adrian Motley continued his elite play with 15 points to go along with 13 rebounds. The Bison shot an impressive 50.1 percent from the field which ultimately propelled them past the Rangers.
On Saturday the Rangers squared off against Arkansas Tech, which pitted two teams right in the middle of the conference race against each other. The black-and-red used balance scoring and another strong performance from Motley who went 4-10 from the floor and also knocked down all 10 of his free throw attempts, totaling 18 points. The Rangers put forth a balanced scoring attack behind Motley’s effort with five other Rangers reaching double digits in the scoring column.
The Rangers used their stifling defense to cause havoc in the Wonder Boy’s front court and would use those turnovers to create 28 points. The win also marked Northwestern’s first win over Arkansas Tech since 1971.
With the conference race heating up the Rangers (6-11,6-7) are within one game of three other teams in the conference standings. Harding and Ouachita Baptist still stand atop of the conference with a 11-2 record each in conference play, but with the second half of conference play just beginning it is anyone’s ball game.
This week the Rangers take on Southern Arkansas University tonight at 7:30 in Percefull Fieldhouse, then turn around and welcome Arkansas Monticello Saturday at 3:00. With Southern Arkansas a game ahead of the Rangers and the Boll Weevils of Arkansas Tech just one game behind of the Rangers, both games are crucial as conference play continues.
The women’s basketball team took the Harding Bison down to the wire before ultimately losing to them 80-77 and Arkansas Tech 90-48 over the weekend.
The Rangers went on the road and faced the Bisons of Harding last Thursday and once again came out on the short end of the stick in a tight contest. The Rangers were led by post Kamera Bozeman who had a season high 28 points to go along with nine rebounds. The Bison jumped out to a 40-23 halftime lead but the Rangers came out hot in the second half and made it a 58-56 game at the end of the third quarter. The fourth quarter also produced a tight race to the end with the Bison riding their solid free throw shooting percentage of 80.1 percent to close out the Rangers. The Rangers shot an impressive 61.1 percent from the field in the second half, while sophomore Jaylan Robinson put up 14 points to compliment Bozeman’s scoring effort.
The Black-and-Red then travelled over to Russellville, Ark. To take on the Golden Suns of Arkansas Tech. The conference leading Golden Suns beat the Rangers 90-48 in a contest that was never close. Arkansas Tech came out shooting well and never looked back. The Rangers found themselves down 43-25 at the half and could not slow down the Golden Suns offense as they shot 57 percent from the field for the game. Robinson and Dallas native Ashley Pride led the way for the Rangers in the scoring category with 12 points each while Bozeman had a solid defensive outing pulling down nine rebounds.
The Rangers (1-17,0-13) will search for their first conference win tonight when they take on Southern Arkansas University in Alva at 5:30. Then on Saturday they will face off against Arkansas Monticello at 1:00.