By RANGER ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT
On Hall of Fame Saturday, the Northwestern Oklahoma State Ranger men took on the Harding Bisons and took them down as well in an 82-73 victory.
The Ranger win proved to be the first time Northwestern has beaten Harding twice in a single season since beginning the series, a huge feat for the Black-and-Red.
Leading the way for the Rangers in the scoring column was Greg Minor Jr. who put up 19 points in the victory. Four of his teammates were also responsible for 10 digit point afternoons, as Treyvon Andres (14), A›keem Oglesby (13), Brandon Green (12) and Cody Halvorson (12).
It didn’t take long for the scoring to start in this one as each team knocked down consecutive threes with the first being netted by the Bisons. Cody Halvorson had the quick answer on the other end to tie it right back up, sparking the Rangers to a 7-2 run making it 10-5.
Harding wouldn’t go away however as they closed the gap in a relatively short time, getting back within two points at 13-11 at the under 12 media.
Greg Minor Jr. led the way offensively with 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting for the first half.
Following a five-point run by the Bisons in under a minute, Northwestern went on a six-point run of their own and steadily increased their lead from there, going up by as many as nine with 2:54 to play in the first 20 minutes.
In a flurry of events towards the end of the half, Brandon Green decided to take over, scoring six-straight points on his own to push his total points scored for the half to nine.
The offensive and defensive prowess of the four-year senior, the Rangers increased the advantage to 13 at 43-30, which is where the half would end. The first half production in points of 43 was the most in two weeks in the game against East Central, where they were responsible for 51.
The Black-and-Red started out the second half increasing the lead to 16, but the Bisons were quick to get it back to 10 in a couple of minutes.
On an and-one by Harding’s Reggie Anthony, HU was able to get the score back to within 10 for the first time in nine game minutes and was able to get it all the way to a four-point contest at 53-49.
A host of Rangers started to pick up the pace on the offensive end along with Minor with Treyvon Andres and A›keem Oglesby hit the double digit mark with 13 minutes to go in the second period.
A major table turner in the contest was a 10-point swing by the hosts. At the 55-49 score, the Rangers then went on the offensive with Oglesby leading the way in the scoring during the time with two straight three pointers.
Following the big run, it was tough for the visitors to get back into striking distance, never making it within seven.
Northwestern was stellar down the stretch and finally taking the contest by nine.
