By OAKLEE FIELDER
The Ranger basketball team had two games to play, one against East Central University in Ada and another against Southeastern Oklahoma State University at home.
Both games ended in a loss, but the first game against the Tigers was the biggest loss of the 2025-26 season for the Rangers.
NWOSU 75-103 ECU
The first half started out ok for Northwestern. Although the Tigers got the jump on them, they were able to stick somewhat close. Five minutes into the game, the Tigers were up by only three points. Then, they went on a run to increase their lead to ten over Northwestern.
The Tigers didn’t stop there. They continued to increase their lead over the Rangers, up to 20 with three minutes left in the first quarter. The Rangers were able to shrink that lead a small bit, but it wasn’t long until the Tigers had a 20-point lead over the Rangers. To end the first half, East Central was up by 24, with another half to play.
In the second, the Rangers started to eat into the Tigers’ lead, but eventually, East Central had another 20-point lead. Then, East Central turned on the afterburners and ran away further from the Rangers. At the 10-minute mark, the Tigers had a lead of 33 over NWOSU. With seven minutes left, the Tigers had a 39-point lead over the Rangers, their largest throughout the game. The game went on, and East Central hit the century mark with two minutes left. The Rangers’ fire sizzled out, and the Tigers secured the win over Northwestern.
Max Alexander scored 20 points, the most for the Rangers. Robbie Armbrester was a close second with 15. Armbrester also had nine rebounds against the Tigers. Cam’ron Brown and Keyondre Young both had three steals each.
The Tigers set the 2025-26 record for most points scored against another GAC team with 103.
SEOSU 71-65 NWOSU
The second game of the week for the Rangers was much closer, although it still ended in a loss.
The game started slow but was close. The Rangers were up by four three minutes into the game, 2-6. The Rangers went on a small run to increase their lead to eight with 13 minutes in the half.
The Savage Storm was able to reel the Rangers in and tied it at the 10-minute mark. Then, the Rangers ran away from Southeastern again, getting their lead up to 11 with four minutes left in the first half. Then the game echoed from earlier, and the Savage Storm caught back up to the Rangers. Southeastern got so close to the Rangers that by the end of the first half, Northwestern was only up by two.
To start the second half, the Rangers earned themselves a small lead over Southeastern. With 17 minutes left in the game, the Rangers were up by seven. Slowly, the Savage Storm inched back to the Rangers and eventually took the lead by one with 11 minutes left. Southeastern took the lead and kept it, as the Rangers were unable to take it back from them by the end of the game. The Savage Storm defeated the Rangers in a tight game, 71-65.
Alexander had the most points for the Rangers with 26. Armbrester was second once again with 14 points. Armbrester had an impressive 14 rebounds, 11 defensive and three offensive. Brown and Javion Langston had the most steals, with two for each player.
The playoff run for the Rangers took a wrong turn this week, as they dropped in the Great American Conference rankings to ninth. They might have fallen, but the race for the final two spots in the playoffs is still running, and it is as tight as ever.
Henderson State, Southern Arkansas and SWOSU are all tied in the standings as they have the same exact overall record. NWOSU and Arkansas Tech are only one conference loss behind, and Monticello is only two wins back.
As the season continues, it will continue to ramp up, as it looks to be a great run to the finish for all the teams that have not clinched births to the playoffs.