By COLLIN ZINK, Senior Reporter
After a rocky second half of December, the Northwestern men’s basketball team has a record of 9-6.
The Rangers started strong on Christmas break, defeating the Oklahoma Panhandle State Aggies, 89-78.
Larry White led the way in scoring, with 34 points coming by way of 14 field goals and six free-throws.
The Rangers then lost to Southeastern Oklahoma State 72-58, and to Southern Arkansas, 69-49.
White once again led the Rangers in points against Southeastern, with 12 points via four field goals and four free throws.
White also had a team high: 15 points against Southern Arkansas on seven field goals and one free throw.
The Rangers bounced back with back-to-back wins over Henderson State, 76-66, and Ouachita Baptist, 83-67.
Against Henderson State, Bubba Furlong led the team in scoring, with 22 points off of two 3-pointers, six field goals and eight free throws.
Against Ouachita Baptist, Brian Free had 22 points, with six 3-pointers and eight field goals.
The Rangers then lost to Southwestern, 83-73. White was the leader in points for the Rangers, with 20 points by making one 3-pointer, seven field goals and five free throws.
The Rangers have lost four games straight to the Bulldogs, with their last win being in 2019 in Weatherford with a double overtime victory of 98-96.
Despite the loss, White said he feels as though the season is going well.
“It’s going good,” White said. “We just got a few key mistakes.”
White said he is not bothered by the loss to Southwestern. He said the team needs to trust the process and continue to improve.
Red-shirt sophomore guard Jalen Smith said he likes how the season is going and how the new players added to the roster are performing.
“The season is going good,” Smith said. “We got 14 new players to the roster, but we’ve been coming together pretty well.”
Smith also said he thinks Christmas break was a learning experience.
“We did learn a lot about ourselves with the time we had together,” Smith said.
Although Smith did not play against Southwestern, he says he is comfortable about the season so far.
“We need to come together and continue to do what we do, one game at a time,” Smith said.
The Ranger’s next home game is Jan. 27 at 7:30 p.m.