By OAKLEE FIELDER
Sports Editor
Last week, the NWOSU Men’s basketball team had two home games against the two schools from Arkadelphia, Arkansas. The Henderson State University Reddies on February 6, and the Ouachita Baptist University Tigers on February 8.
HEN 81-NWOSU 90
Neon night was the name of the game against the Reddies. The game against Henderson State started with a tip in by Kabeya Tshibangu. The Reddies fought back and scored seven straight points. Down by five, the rangers came back and tied it at nine. The Rangers then ran away with the lead. First the difference was seven, then nine, then ten, then fifteen.
The Rangers stalled out after that and their lead stayed under fifteen for the rest of the half.
The Reddies did cut the Rangers’ lead, but not by much. The half ended with eleven points separating the two teams. The half ended 35-46 in favor for the home team.
The second half started exactly the same as the first. Max Alexander made a layup which was followed by a score by the Reddies. The Rangers’ momentum seemed to have sputtered out for a bit after halftime, and Henderson State cut their lead to three.
The Rangers woke up and answered and extended their lead again to seven.
The two teams went back and forth for a while. Throughout the back and forth, the Rangers’ lead went up and down, with the score slowly extending with every minute going by.
Their lead reached fifteen multiple times during the back and forth. The Rangers kept the lead far enough away and the back and forth going long enough to seal the win with time still left on the clock. The Reddies shrunk the Rangers’ lead to eight by the end of the game, but Camron McDowell scored a free throw to make it nine.
The Rangers defeated the Reddies 81-90.
OCH 79-NWOSU 78
Two days later, the Rangers faced off against the Ouachita Baptist Tigers.
The game started with five points for the Tigers. The Rangers fought back and got the difference to two, but the Tigers had other plans. The Tigers’ lead was extended to eight, and stayed more than three points away. They really opened the scoring up and at one point got to the double digits in the score difference. The Rangers fought back and brought the difference back down to five, but the Tigers went right back to scoring again.
The difference got to fourteen points until the Rangers shrunk it again. The half ended 36-27 with a lead for the away team.
The second half opened with points for the Tigers. The two teams went back and forth throughout the opening minute of the half. The Rangers’ got as close to as one point away from the Tigers more than once, but Ouachita Baptist extend their lead both times. With twelve minutes left in the game, the score was tied at forty-nine and then fifty-one.
In the next minute, the Rangers took the lead for the first time in the game, and the sight of victory was finally seen. The Tigers tried to shut the door by taking the lead away and extending it but the Rangers came right back and opened the door again.
With over two minutes left in the game, the Rangers had the lead by six. In the final minute, the Tigers shrunk the lead to one, and they went back and forth for the remaining seconds they had left.
With just five seconds left in the game, Ouachita Baptist took the lead by one. After a timeout by the Rangers, Max Alexander tried for a buzzer beater but missed. The Rangers lost by one point 79-78. This is the first loss for the Rangers at home since winter break. They continue to sit sixth in the GAC standings with a record of 9-7. They will travel to Weatherford to play against the SWOSU Bulldogs on February 13, and will play at home on Saturday against Oklahoma Baptist University. Camron McDowell was announced as the GAC Offensive Player of the Week for week thirteen.