SENATOBIA – In a back-and-forth affair that saw 24 lead changes, Greg Magee hit a slashing layup with 6.7 seconds remaining to lift Columbia State to a 75-73 win over Northwest on Tuesday night. 

Columbia State improved to 7-5 on the year while Northwest dropped to 3-7.

Sophomore A.J. Cunningham's 3-pointer from the left wing with 17 seconds remaining tied the game at 73-73, but Columbia State quickly countered back down the floor without calling a timeout, and found the game-winner to bury the Rangers. 

Both teams shot the ball well the opening half, with Columbia State connecting on 60 percent and Northwest 47 percent, and the game went into the half knotted at 35 apiece.

The Rangers led by as many as seven in the period, 19-12 with 13:58 remaining, and got strong bench play in outscoring the Chargers 12-2 the opening 20 minutes.

The second half was similar to the first, with the teams exhanging 12 lead changes, including seven the final six minutes. Columbia State built a game-high 7-point lead, 48-41, thanks to six-straight points from Masceo Harmon.

But Northwest continued to battle back, retaking the lead 64-63 with 4:01 remaining on back-to-back buckets from sophomore Darius Woods.

Columbia State, however, got back-to-back 3s from Christian Little its next two possessions to push back ahead by five, 69-64, with just over 2 minutes remaining. Little was huge in the second half for the Chargers, hitting 4 of 8 from beyond the arc and finishing with all of his 14 points in the second half. 

Northwest again responded to tie the game at 73-73 with a 9-4 spurt, but the game-winner went to Magee in the waning seconds. Bernard Jones had a chance to send the game into overtime as the Rangers quickly came back the other way, but his runner from just inside the free throw line hit off the front of the iron.

A combined nine different scorers finished in double figures, including four from Northwest. Sophomore Everick Morris, making his season debut, scored a team-high 16 points and added nine assists, while Cunningham added 13 and DeMarcus McVay and Jones each chipped in 10. Masceo Harmon led Columbia State with 21 points and eight assists.

The Rangers will continue a three-game homestand to open 2012 on Thursday, welcoming Arkansas Baptist (8-9) to Howard Coliseum for a 7 p.m. tipoff.

Live stats (follow here) and live video (watch here) will be available for fans.