The Northwestern Oklahoma State men’s basketball team picked up a key win on the road in Magnolia, Arkansas over Southern Arkansas University.
The 77-67 victory was in large part due to the combination of senior Adrian Motley and junior Cody Halvorson. The two Ranger stand-outs netted 25 and 27 points respectively, with Halvorson’s 27 points marking a season high. Halvorson converted on 8-of-15 attempts from behind the arc. Motley’s solid evening of play included him seeing all 40 minutes of action on the court and ended up just two rebounds short of a double-double with eight rebounds.
Backing up the efforts of Halvorson and Motley was junior Greg Minor Jr. Minor found his name on the stat sheet in multiple categories with 11 points, four rebounds and three steals. Point guard Brandon Green also had eight points and six rebounds.
As a team the Rangers shot 44.3 percent from the field on 27-of-61 shots. The difference in the ball game proved to be the 11 three pointers the Rangers hit compared to just the five long-range conversions for the Muleriders.
The Rangers led for a total of 37 minutes and extended that lead by as many as 17 at one point in the ball game. Southern Arkansas came back after a 42-36 halftime deficit and took the lead at the 16:09 mark of the second half. After each team traded buckets, the trio of Motley, Minor and Halvorson built a 10 point lead with 8:50 remaining in the game. Back-to-back buckets from Motley and a couple of solid defensive stands led to a 70-56 advantage. The Rangers defense stepped up and never let the Muleriders gain momentum back into the game.
Unfortunately earlier in the week the Rangers travelled to Monticello, Arkansas to play against University of Arkansas and lost the game 77-87.
Northwestern will return to the friendly confines of Percefull Fieldhouse this Thursday to take on the Savage Storm of Southeastern with tip-off set for 7:30 p.m.