by Madison Parrot, Athletic Commmunications
Northwestern Oklahoma State University Rangers dropped a tough a hard match-up against Oklahoma Baptist University on Saturday afternoon.
Oklahoma Baptist University took an early lead and never let go despite efforts from the Rangers and took the win 86-68.
The Black-and-Red offense was led by Parrish Hewitt who had 22 points, mostly in the second half.
Other stand-out players include Clive Allen who had 16 points and went 5-6 from the free throw line and led the team with seven assists.
Bryshon Bryant had nine points and went 4-for-6 from the field and led the team in rebounds with nine. Nathan Bailey III earned eight points with two threes.
The Rangers struggled to find a rhythm during the first half of the game and quickly fell back 13-4.
However, back-to-back layups from Jaedon Whitfield and a three-point basket from Hewitt gave the Rangers some momentum followed by a Bailey three-pointer that pulled the Rangers to within five at the 10-minute mark.
A 13-0 run was the answer from the Bison and eventually led to their largest lead of the game with a score of 46-20.
Some final second free-throws gave the Rangers a 52-29 score as they headed into halftime.
Northwestern came out to play in the second half of the match-up. The Rangers came out fighting in the second half led by Allen and Hewitt.
The Black-and-Red tallied a 14-point run to cut the lead to 15 points and out-scored the Bison, 39 points to their 34.
Unfortunately, the Rangers couldn’t hang on as OBU extended their lead back to 24 with ten minutes left in the second half. The Bison continued to dominate to keep their lead around 20 and take the match 86-68.
The Rangers out-rebounded the Bison 38 to 37 throughout the game and out-scored Oklahoma Baptist in the paint 34 to 30.
The Bison, however, could not miss in the first half with 51% from the field and 57% from beyond the arc.
The OBU defense stepped up to the plate creating 14 turnovers and earning 17 points off said turnovers. The Rangers outscored the Bison in the second half and went 50% from the field but it was not enough to take the game.
The Rangers will head to Searcy, Arkansas, to play against Great American Conference opponent Harding Thursday evening. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. following the Lady Rangers game.
After the Ragners play Harding on Thursday they will then travel to Russellville to play Arkansas Tech University on Saturday.