WEATHERFORD, Okla. - SWOSU Men's Basketball played an intense rivalry game Tuesday night at home against Northwestern Oklahoma State, but came up just short, losing 53-48.

SWOSU built an early lead, but the Rangers came charging back and tied the game at 12-12 midway through the first half.

A Damion Thornton block on a Ranger dunk attempt energized the crowd got some momentum on SWOSU's side, but neither team could gain an edge on offense, and it was the Rangers with the 23-21 advantage at halftime.

Turnovers were an issue for SWOSU, as they committed 13 in the first half. The Rangers took advantage with 16 points off those turnovers. A positive in the first half was SWOSU nearly shot 50 percent from beyond the arc, going 4-for-9.

A 9-0 run to open the second half by Northwestern caused problems for the Dawgs, as SWOSU was forced to play from behind the rest of the way in a defensive minded game. 

SWOSU went a stretch of five and a half minutes without scoring out of the break, until Jaylan Williams knocked down a pair of free throws. They continued to grind though and ripped off a 10-4 run to get the game back within one possession with 10 minutes to play.

With 5:45 left to play, Mark Berry had a dunk to bring SWOSU within one, at 38-37. 

Northwestern eventually built a 46-40 lead with two minutes to play. Tanner Meraz knocked down a 3-pointer, making the score 49-46. SWOSU fouled and NWOSU missed both free throws to keep the game within a single possession.  

In the closing seconds of the game and with the ball, SWOSU committed a turnover and was unable to get a shot attempt up to cut the lead further or tie the game. The Rangers went on to sink their foul shots and won the game 53-48.

The Dawgs had their chances, but ultimately 26 turnovers by the home team proved to be too much to overcome. Northwestern capitalized off the mishaps by scoring 30 points off Bulldog turnovers.

The Rangers had their fair share of turnovers as well, 19, however SWOSU only managed to score five points off these turnovers. 

Thornton scored 13 points for SWOSU. The Bulldogs fall to 9-13 and 8-9 in Great American Conference play and will return to the court on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. against Harding in Weatherford.