By Dax Benway, Senior Reporter
The Northwestern men’s basketball team has had a rough stretch during the past few weeks.
The team has had four conference matchups in the month of January.
The Rangers opened up the month Jan. 5 with a 79-78 loss at the buzzer in a home game against Southern Arkansas.
Malik Parsons led the Rangers with 23 points while scoring eight from the free throw line.
After the loss, the Rangers were anxious for a win, and that’s exactly what they got.
The Rangers won their first conference game of the season at home against Arkansas-Monticello, 82-74, ending the game on a 12-4 run to close out the Boll Weevils. Parsons led the way again with a 29-point performance.
“This one was huge,” Parsons said. “After a tough loss the other night, our team really wanted to get back out on the court again. We didn’t want to feel the same way down the stretch in this game, so we focused on really finishing the game strong and not letting them back in it.”
The Rangers took their momentum with them as they began a three-game road trip.
The road trip began in Arkadelphia to play both Henderson State and Ouachita Baptist in two conference road games.
The Rangers started their road trip with a win over the Henderson State Reddies, 66-65. Larry White led the way with 14 points and five rebounds, but Chance Love hit the game-winning shot with three seconds left to give the Rangers a win.
After back-to-back conference wins, the Rangers were riding high heading into their matchup with Ouachita Baptist.
The Rangers fell to the Tigers, 83-75, ending their two-game streak.
Parsons led the way again with 29 points, but it wasn’t enough to knock off the Tigers.
With five games left in the month of January, the Rangers are looking to get back to winning.
On Thursday, the Rangers end their road trip with a game at East Central before coming back to Alva for one home game Saturday against Oklahoma Baptist.
Starting Monday, the Rangers are back on the road, traveling to Weatherford to take on Southwestern.
After that, the Rangers will end the month with two games at home against Harding and Arkansas Tech.