By OAKLEE FIELDER
The Ranger basketball team faced two teams from Arkansas, losing to the Harding University Bison and defeating the Arkansas Tech University Wonderboys.
Harding 68-63 NWOSU
The Rangers faced a tough opponent on Thursday, the Harding Bison. The Rangers entered the game sitting number five in the conference, while Harding was number three.
The Rangers made it clear that they came to play, and they made sure everyone knew it early. The two teams battled tightly and physically. Harding started with a slight lead throughout the first minutes of the first half, but the Rangers bounded back and had it tied at 10 with 12 minutes left. Harding earned their slight lead back, but Northwestern battled and kept them within touching distance.
After being down by a few points for a couple of minutes, the Rangers took the lead by one with five minutes left in the half. Harding responded by taking the lead by three, but a three-pointer from Justin Norris gave the Rangers an even playing field with two minutes left. The two teams traded layups, and the game was tied at 22 at the end of the first half.
To start the second half, the Bison immediately went to work and earned themselves a lead of five.
Free throws from Cam’ron Brown, a jumper from Kenny Burns III and three-pointers from Max Alexander got the Rangers back within one. With 15 minutes left, the two teams were within one, but then Harding scored a three-pointer to give them a four-point lead. Harding continued to push a little bit and had a lead of six with 12 minutes left. Although the Rangers fought to get close, the Bison scored with every chance they had in the closing minutes of the game and secured their win over Northwestern.
ATU 63-76 NWOSU
The next game for the Rangers would be an important one, considering the season is in the closing stages, and playoff pushes are in the works.
The game opened with a great first half from the Rangers. They took the lead and never looked back. The Rangers slowly inched away from the Wonderboys, as they had a 10-point lead with nine minutes left in the half. The Rangers increased their lead as time went on and had a 16-point lead with one minute left in the half. The Wonderboys were able to shrink their lead to 12, but the damage had already been done.
The Rangers kept their lead at the start of the second half, until Arkansas Tech pushed in the midway point of the half as they attempted to get the game back within reach.
With 15 minutes left, they were able to shrink the Rangers’ lead down to just five. Two minutes later, the Wonderboys took the lead by one point with a three-pointer. The two teams traded scores, then a layup from Robbie Armbrester gave the Rangers the lead back.
Then, the Rangers were able to earn their large lead back as the game entered the end stages. With one minute left, the Rangers were up by 18, basically securing the win. The Wonderboys attempted to score a few more points, but it was nothing to give them a chance at the win.
In the Arkansas Tech game, Max Alexander hit 1,000 career points at Northwestern. Later in the week, he was announced as the GAC Offensive Player of the Week for his play against the Bison and Wonderboys.
Now, the Rangers sit fifth in the GAC standings, under Harding and over Henderson State. Henderson has one fewer win than the Rangers, and they are next on their schedule on Thursday. Northwestern will then play Ouachita Baptist on Saturday to end the weekend in Arkansas.