Kendre Talley led OC with 11 points in the Eagles' 72-61 loss at Northwestern Oklahoma State.

ALVA, Okla. (Nov. 21, 2011) – Jonathan Freemyer scored 15 points and Northwestern Oklahoma State shot 55.2 percent from the field after halftime en route to a 72-61 win over Oklahoma Christian on Monday night at Percefull Fieldhouse.

In the Sooner Athletic Conference opener for both teams, OC (4-2, 0-1) struggled with its shooting throughout, going 16 of 48 from the field (33.3 percent). Despite their poor shooting – and the fact two of their post players, Eric Randall and Will Reinke, were saddled with three fouls each – the Eagles led by as many as six points in the first half and were tied with Northwestern 26-26 at halftime.

But the Rangers (3-3, 1-0) went 16 of 29 from the field after that to build a double-digit lead. Thiago Guilherme scored 47 seconds into the half, giving Northwestern a lead it wouldn't relinquish. Marshall Bell's 3-pointer put the Rangers up 46-36 with 13:01 left and their lead eventually grew to 16 points.

OC came no closer than seven points the rest of the way. Kendre Talley led the Eagles in scoring with 11 points while Ross Morrisett had 10. Devan White had nine points and 11 rebounds and Reinke – like Morrisett seeing his first action of the season – finished with nine points and 13 rebounds.

The Eagles committed 20 turnovers, compared to nine for Northwestern. OC outrebounded the Rangers 44-35.

Bell and Jeremy Felton added 12 points each for the Rangers.

The game marked the return of longtime Northwestern coach Bob Battisti to Alva. Battisti guided the Rangers for 21 years and spent four more years as Northwestern's athletic director before retiring and joining OC head coach Dan Hays' staff as an assistant.

OC is off until Dec. 1, when the Eagles will visit SAC rival St. Gregory's.