Alva Review-Courier -

TULSA, Okla. – Northwestern Oklahoma State University men's basketball took on the University of Tulsa Golden Hurricane in a pre-season exhibition game on Monday at the Donald W. Reynolds Center in Tulsa, Okla. and kept pace with the American Athletic Conference member for a good portion of the game before TU finished off the Rangers, 96-65.

The 2017-18 Rangers looked promising with three players reaching double digits in the contest. Head coach Shawn Dirden used the opportunity to preview the Rangers potent offensive attack against a quality opponent in Division I, Tulsa.

Northwestern saw red hot three-point shooting performances in the first half from Cody Halvorson, Greg Minor Jr. and A.J. Jones, with the black-and-red connecting on 47.4 percent of threes in the opening frame.

The Rangers came out of the gates a little slow, Monday evening, going down 8-0 early on in the game, but a couple of three pointers by Halvorson and A'keem Oglesby brought the visitors to life.

The pesky Northwestern team was able to climb all the way back to within four points on two separate occasions, but the Hurricane were able to keep the Rangers at bay in the first half, heading into the break with a 44-36 advantage.

Halvorson showed off his offensive prowess in the first half, leading the team with 10 points against the cross-state Division I foe, while Jones and Minor recorded six of their own in the first 20 minutes of play.

The second half of play saw the Golden Hurricane clamp down on defense, allowing the Rangers to just 30.4 percent shooting, while they shot 57.1 percent on their side of the floor.

Although the Black and Red had a tough time getting the offense rolling in the second half of play, the guests were outstanding at the charity stripe, going 12-for-13 in the second period. Overall during the game, Northwestern converted on 88.2 percent of their free shots.

Northwestern started off the second 20 minutes of play on a roll, getting within four points at 50-46, but the Hurricane proved to be too much as they gradually increased their lead throughout the rest of the contest, eventually taking the exhibition, 96-65.

Following the exhibition with Tulsa, Northwestern's next contests will come at home on Nov. 10 and 11 where they will play host to this year's MIAA/GAC Challenge in Percefull Fieldhouse. The Rangers will take on Northeastern State on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and then the University of Central Oklahoma on Saturday at the same time.