ALVA, Okla. – Northwestern Oklahoma State made eight of its first nine field goal attempts, including five 3-pointers, and led throughout in defeating 18th-ranked Harding 80-61 in Great American Conference action at Percefull Fieldhouse.

Northwestern (10-9, 7-6) shot 65 percent in the first half and led 45-28 at halftime. The 17-point deficit was Harding's largest at halftime this season. The Rangers are provisional members of the GAC and are not eligible for the GAC Tournament.

Harding (17-4, 10-3) lost for the first time since falling 69-66 to St. Edward's at the Oahu Classic in Hawaii on Dec. 17. The Bisons won a school-record 10 straight in the interim, including all nine of its games in January.

Harding trailed by as many as 25 points with 16:36 left in the second half but went on a 15-4 run and trimmed the lead to 14 on two Bradley Spencer free throws with 12:52 remaining.

A layup by Jacob Gibson with 10:31 cut the margin to only 13 at 60-47. Gibson then hit a 3-pointer at the 9:02 mark to cut it to 11 at 61-50, but Harding got no closer. Gibson had a season-high 11 points.

Freshman Andraz Kavas led Harding with 12 points, and Spencer had 10.

Northwestern, who improved to 6-0 at home in conference games, shot 59 percent for the game, the highest by a Harding opponent this season. The Rangers, who averaged only 5.7 3-pointers per game, hit 9-of-18 from 3-point range.

Daryl Glover and Jonathan Freemyer led Northwestern State with 19 points each.

Harding plays the final game of a three-game road trip Saturday against Southwestern Oklahoma State at 4 p.m. in Weatherford.