Alva Review-Courier -

ALVA, Okla. – Northwestern Oklahoma State men's basketball came out on the winning end of an 83-78 dogfight and the Rangers continue to roll through the first half of the season. One of the most deadly three-ball shooters in the GAC had the pull-up jumper working as Cody Halvorson dropped 21 points in the first half alone, before Treyvon Andres and A.J. Jones took control down the stretch.

Finding themselves down by six with about five minutes to play, the Rangers found another gear and went on a 10-0 run to regain a four point lead. With the Weevils making a push in the dying moments, Andres picked up a steal and threw down a statement two-handed dunk to all but seal the victory.

Halvorson had the house rocking early as the 6-foot-0 senior was a perfect 6-for-6 from downtown to start the ball game. The Rangers shot 42.3 percent from the field to grab a four-point advantage heading into the locker room.

The two teams entered play Saturday with the Weevils trailing Northwestern by a single game in the GAC standings. The Rangers, fresh off a convincing 21-point victory over Southern Arkansas two days earlier, were in search of their fifth conference win as they sat in a three way tie for second place in the conference. UAM was coming off a nine-point win at Southwestern and were looking to snap the Rangers flawless home record.

With the defending GAC regular season champs returning eight players from their 2016-17 team, head coach Shawn Dirden knew the Rangers would have to contain one of the conference's top scorers in Derylton Hill, the 6-foot-5 senior averaging 16.1 points per game.

Hill led the Weevils with 26 points and eight boards, but the strong second-half effort wouldn't be enough to knock off the league leading Ranger defense.

Weevil head coach Kyle Tolin was able to make some halftime adjustments to cool off the red-hot Halvorson, who picked up all of his 21 points in the first half. Tolin assigned Tyrin Jones to guard the Rangers' sniper and that seemed to pay off, but Dirden made some adjustments of his own. Northwestern continued to move the ball around and produced five scorers in double digits.

The Rangers inside presence was on display yet again and Cedric Collinge continued his recent trend of outstanding defensive play. The Fort Collins, Colo. native picked up three steals and a blocked shot while the 6-foot-7 Andres added three blocks and a steal.

With Saturday's win, Northwestern's 9-2 start to the 2017-18 campaign marks the Rangers best start since 2005-06 season.

Up Next

Northwestern will head to Bethany to take on Southern Nazarene University on Thursday, Jan. 11 in what should be an exciting Great American Conference matchup. The Crimson Storm are coming off a weekend in which they took down Harding (89-67) and Arkansas Tech (85-82) at home and remain undefeated in conference play.

The Rangers will then host Oklahoma Baptist University on Saturday, Jan. 13 inside Percefull Fieldhouse. The Bison lost a close battle with Arkansas Tech (84-87) Thursday evening before beating Harding 100-93 on Saturday. Game time is slated for 3 p.m.