Box Score (html)
ALVA, Okla. – After taking a nine-point lead with 11:28 to play, SWOSU was outscored 21-7 to end the game as Northwestern Oklahoma State earned a 61-56 rivalry win on Thursday night at Percefull Fieldhouse in Alva.
Trent Washington gave the Bulldogs their biggest lead at 49-40 on a three-pointer with 11:28 remaining before the Rangers rattled off five straight points to make it a four-point game.
Kenyan Borders answered with a 3-pointer of his own, pushing the lead back to seven before an intentional foul against the Bulldogs
Keyshawn Perkins helped NWOSU get back to within one at 52-51.
SWOSU wouldn't surrender the lead until under the five-minute mark as NWOSU's Adrian Motley hit a short jumper to put the Rangers up 55-54. That basket started a 6-0 run that put Northwestern up for good and left the Bulldogs battling from behind.
Martell Collins hit a basket with 2:23 to play to get SWOSU within three and an
Ayo Ojo block on the next possession gave SWOSU the ball facing a 59-56 deficit with less than a minute to play, but a left wing 3-pointer from
Kenyan Borders was off line and free throws from the Rangers closed out the game.
SWOSU was led by Collins, who scored 16 of his team-high 18 points in the first half but was held short of a double-double for the first time in five games. Ojo provided great production as well with nine points and nine rebounds along with three blocked shots while Washington had eight points and Borders chipped in seven.
The loss drops the Bulldogs to 10-7 on the year and 4-6 in Great American Conference play, which puts them in a five-way tie for sixth place in the conference standings heading into a matchup at Southern Nazarene next Thursday evening.
