Greg Minor (10) eyes the basket just before leaping for a dunk against Arkansas-Monticello. Minor started the fast break opportunity by picking the pocket of a Boll Weevil guard near midcourt.
Second year head coach Shawn Dirden gives direction to senior Brandon Green (11) during a free-throw on the opposite end of the floor. He has coached the Rangers to their first-ever postseason win as an NCAA member, and potentially first-ever bid in the NCAA tournament.
BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – The Northwestern Oklahoma State men's basketball Great American Conference tournament run came to an end Saturday afternoon as they fell to Arkansas-Monticello, 69-58, inside Bruin Fieldhouse in Bartlesville.
The season may not be over for the Rangers as they now have to play the waiting game in hopes for an at-large bid into the NCAA Div. II National Tournament. It would be the first bid for the Rangers program as a member of the NCAA.
The 64-team field is set to be announced at 9:30 p.m. on Sunday. There will be 24 automatic bids to conference champions, with the 40 remaining spots going to at-large selections.
The loss to the Boll Weevils on Saturday dropped the Rangers' record to 22-7 overall this season and snapped a 10-game winning streak. It was the best season record for the Rangers since they finished 22-11 in 2010-11. NWOSU last had a 23-win season in 1999-2000.
They reached the GAC tournament semifinals with a victory Thursday afternoon against Southern Arkansas, 76-71, the first postseason win for the Rangers as a NCAA program.
Trayvon Andres had a solid day scoring for the Rangers as he led all scorers in the game with 20 points, and he pulled down six rebounds as well. A'Keem Oglesby was the only other Ranger scorer in double-figures with 10 points.
Four Boll Weevils scored in double-figures, led by Derylton Hill with 19 points.
The difference in the game is second chance points by the Rangers' opponents. While the Boll Weevils only out-rebounded the Rangers 15-12 in the offensive category, UAM scored 18 second chance points to just six for the Rangers.
Despite never leading the ball game, the Rangers kept the Weevils at arm's length throughout the game, never trailing by more than 11, which came early in the second half.
After UAM made it a 10-point game midway through the first period, the Rangers turned the offense on with a 7-0 run to make it a 20-17 ballgame at the 9:43 mark. A.J. Jones started the run with a jumper, followed by a steal by Oglesby and a Greg Minor three, assisted by Jones. Oglesby capped the run with a layup.
The Rangers trailed by six at halftime, 37-31.
Just two minutes into the second half, the Boll Weevils extended their advantage to 11 points before Andres scored on back-to-back possessions for the Rangers, and Brandon Green hit a layup after a Jones steal to cut the UAM lead to 44-39.
Never trailing by double-digits the rest of the game, the Rangers cut the lead to three following a fast-break layup by Cody Halverson and a jumper in the paint from Andres to bring the score to 61-58 with 2:23 to go.
But the Rangers offense went cold in the final minutes as they missed their final five shots to close the game.
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