By Jara Reeder, Senior Reporter
The Northwestern men’s basketball team had strong performances in victories over Harding and Arkansas Tech.
On Jan. 26, the Rangers welcomed the Bisons of Harding to Percefull Fieldhouse with a blackout, as Ranger fans waved black pom-poms and wore anything black they could find to support Northwestern.
After the first 12 minutes of the game went back and forth, the Bisons held the largest lead of the half at 24-18 with eight minutes until halftime.
The Rangers and Bisons fought back and forth, with the score at halftime being 32-30 in favor of Northwestern.
Brian Free started off the second half with a three-pointer, making the score 35-30.
The Rangers hit shot after shot to go on a 19-3 run midway through the second half to take a 58-42 lead with nine minutes remaining in the game. The Rangers used the momentum from the run to cruise to an 80-64 win.
Larry White led the Rangers in scoring by shooting 8-15 from the field for a total of 18 points.
On Saturday, the Rangers hosted the Wonder Boys of Arkansas Tech for the Hall of Fame game.
The Rangers got off to a quick start by capitalizing off of back-to-back Arkansas Tech turnovers with a dunk by White followed by a layup by Malik Parsons. Meanwhile, it took the Wonder Boys more than a minute into the game to score any points.
The Rangers continued to run up the score with big buckets from White and Jason Douglas-Stanley to give Northwestern a 10-point lead about five minutes into the game. The Rangers ended the first half with a 41-33 lead over the Wonder Boys.
The Wonder Boys responded with four quick points to start the second half, making it 41-37.
Arkansas Tech continued to fight back the entire second half and eventually cut the deficit down to two in a 69-67 game with three minutes remaining. After a three by Free, Parsons scored 13 straight points to give the Rangers an 85-70 win.
The victories give the Rangers a record of 9-8 overall with a 5-8 record in Great American Conference play.
The next game for Northwestern is Thursday, when the Rangers travel to Monticello, Arkansas, to play at Arkansas-Monticello before finishing in Magnolia, Arkansas, against Southern Arkansas.