ALVA, Okla. – Despite a hot shooting afternoon, Oklahoma Baptist (10-6, 7-3 GAC) fell 96-88 to Northwestern Oklahoma State (7-7, 3-7 GAC) inside Percefull Fieldhouse on Saturday.
The loss snaps OBU's four-game winning streak, moving its conference tally to 7-3 in 2022-23.
OBU shot 51.9% from the field and knocked down a season-best 14 three-pointers, but it was to no avail as a talented NWOSU squad matched the Bison's energy with a 51.6% field goal mark.
Oklahoma Baptist conceded its second-most turnovers this season, charting 18 by the game's end, while the Rangers committed 15. Northwestern's ability to capitalize off its mistakes made the difference, as a 21-12 advantage in points off turnovers aided their pursuit of victory.
Additionally, the most significant discrepancy between the ball clubs was points in the paint. NWOSU bested OBU in the category 48-24, including a 28-8 margin in the second half.
The contest started in favor of Northwestern and stayed that way as the team built a six-point lead, 16-10, six minutes into first-half action.
Oklahoma Baptist responded with a 6-0 run to knot the tally before tacking on 12 more for its largest lead of the half, 26-18.
The Rangers battled back to reclaim the advantage at the 4:48 mark (35-34), but OBU took back the reins to go up by two by the half's intermission, 44-42.
Northwestern outscored the Bison 54-44 in the second half, shooting 60% from the field, while OBU netted 42.8% of its attempts.
Oklahoma Baptist made things interesting late, but the opposition's shooting success in the stanza saw its lead reach as far as 12. With that, NWOSU came away with the win.
Ricky Brown matched his career-high from the beyond the arc, charting seven three-pointers en route to a team-best 25 points. Paul King chimed in 15 points, while D.J. Freeman added 14 points on 5-7 shooting.
Trey Doomes was the last Bison to reach double figures, finishing with 11 points with a 7-11 performance at the free throw line. Doomes also brought down a game-high eight rebounds.
Ethan Scott knocked down a trio of threes for nine points, and Bradley Akhile contributed seven points to wrap up the notables.
Oklahoma Baptist returns home on Monday to begin a three-game homestand, starting with Southern Nazarene. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. inside the Noble Complex.a
