By RYAN SHUMAKER
Sports Editor
Northwestern Oklahoma State University’s men’s basketball team stayed busy over the break and picked up some key wins during the beginning of Great American Conference play.
Junior Adrian Motley continued to be a key leader and contributor on the floor for the Rangers throughout the break. Motley averaged 19 points during the stretch, which included two wins over GAC foes Southeastern Oklahoma State University and Henderson State University.
The Rangers began the holiday break with a visit from the Aggies of Cameron University and played a hard fought game until a shot at the buzzer gave the Rangers a 72-70 loss.
Junior transfer Jamal Lafond tied the game at 70 with four seconds left before the last second lay-up handed the Rangers a loss. Motley lead both teams in scoring with 21 points while Brandon Green, a sophomore out of Houston, Texas, provided a balanced game with eight points, eight rebounds, six assists, and 3 steals.
Up next on Jan. 7, Ouachita Baptist University made a trip out to Alva and took down the black and red 83-73. The Rangers kept it a close game in the first half before the Tigers rode a huge 14 point second-half run to a victory.
The loss was not without some bright spots for the men as transfer Austin Klug emerged as a valuable and consistent scoring option, going five for seven from the field, on his way to 13 points. Motley had his biggest scoring performance of the break, lighting up the stat sheet for 24 points.
The following Saturday the Rangers welcomed Henderson State to Percefull Fieldhouse and came away with their second victory in GAC play. A more balanced attack proved to be the key for the Ranger’s 64-56 victory as Green, Lakeem Henderson, and Zachary Dumas all netted 11 points along with Motley’s 12 points. Henderson came out on fire with a 7-0 run before the Rangers gained control and took a three point lead into half-time. After the intermission, the Reddies once again came out hot on another solid five point run before Motley and company took over and pulled out with the victory. Motley scored all 12 of his points in the final 20 minutes of the game to help provide the Rangers with their first victory in 2016.
On Jan. 14, the Rangers traveled to Bethany, Oklahoma, to face Southern Nazarene University and lost 99-79 before returning home the next Saturday to defend their home court with an 82-77 victory against the Savage Storm of Southeastern Oklahoma State University. The Rangers kept the game in reach most of the game using some key 3-point buckets to stay out of the reach of the Storm. The team used multiple offensive looks to provide scoring opportunities for the two big men inside Klug and Motley. Klug led the way in scoring with 21 points and also grabbed 11 rebounds to record a double-double. Motley also had an efficient game going nine for eleven from the field and putting down 20 points. The Rangers got the lead all the way up to 10 points, however at the 12:30 mark of the second half the game started to get away from the home team before Freshman guard Zachary Dumas hit back to back 3-point shots to effectively put away the Storm.
The black and red hit the road again and headed into hostile territory as they took on arch rival Southwestern Oklahoma State University. The Rangers handled the environment well early but faded away late, losing 90-72. The contest was pretty much even at the midway point of the game with the Bulldogs only up five, however the home squad exploded in the second half despite the onslaught of Ranger three balls which include T’aries Taylor going 5 for 7 from beyond the arch.
The Rangers (3-5, 3-9) will be in action tonight against KOlahoma Baptist in Shawnee, Okla..
Then on Saturday , the Red-and-Black host the East Central Tigers at 3 p.m. in historic Percefull fieldhouse.