Hawks hang on to hand Ranger rare loss

The Howard College Hawks hit a pair of free throws with 4.2 seconds left on Wednesday night in the Ron Butler Gymnasium and then survived a last-second shot by Coryon Mason to claim a tough 67-75 non-conference decision over Ranger College.

With the loss, Ranger slipped to 5-1 for the season. Howard College, which had led by as many as 12 early in the second half, moved to 6-0.

Ranger struggled to get its offense going in the early minutes. The Rangers managed just nine shots from the field in the first 20 minutes of the game and limped into the half trailing 24-21. Howard, which opened the affair with an 8-0 run in the first three minutes, nailed three three-pointers in the first half.

Ranger College stormed back in the second half. Backed by 15 second-half points from Caleb Asberry and Braden Bell, the Rangers rallied and captured a small lead heading into the final two minutes of play.

Bell finished the game as the Rangers' top scorer, netting 21 points. Asberry added 17, while Jaren English chipped in 12.

Howard College was led by Matt Johnson's game-high 24 points. Johnson scored 20 of his total points in the second half, including 15 via five three-point bombs.

The Ranger College men will return to action on Nov. 16 when they travel to Enid, Oklahoma, for a showdown with Northern Oklahoma-Tonkawa. They will play Northern Oklahoma-Enid on Nov. 17.