SENATOBIA – Northwest used four scorers in double figures, including sophomore DeMarcus McVay's sixth double-double of the season, as they built a large halftime lead and were able to ride that to a 82-69 win over East Central Saturday afternoon at Howard Coliseum. 

Northwest improved to 5-1 at home and 6-3 overall while East Central remained winless at 0-11.

East Central scored the game's first basket and the teams exchanged three leads the opening two minutes.

A 10-2 run over the ensuing 3:45 gave Northwest an early 14-6 advantage as Charles Eaton rattled in back-to-back threes and McVay, Domonique Harris and Dajon Reno all added buckets.

The Warriors would respond with a 7-0 run of their own to pull the game within a point at 14-13, using five points from the game's top scorer Hakeem Wesley.

Back-to-back 3s by Bernard Jones gave the Rangers a spark off the bench as they were able to extend the lead back out to seven at the 10:38-mark.

With Northwest leading by five late in the half, the Rangers turned up the defensive pressure in forcing five turnovers and would close the period on a 19-5 run to take a 45-26 lead at the half.

Northwest shot 51 percent in the opening period compared to 35 percent from East Central.

The Rangers opened the second half with 14 of the first 21 points to build their lead out to a game-high 59-33 with 14:27 remaining.

Aquill Baynard and Akeem Toppin collectively helped East Central back into the game the ensuing 13 minutes as they scored a combined 24 points to trim what was a 26-point deficit down to 76-67 with 1:42 remaining.

That's as close as the Warriors would get, however, as Eaton and Harris hit all six free throws down the stretch to preserve the 82-69 win – the Rangers' fourth by double figures this season.

McVay led Northwest with 17 points and 10 rebounds, followed by Eaton with 15, Harris with 12 and Jordan Hulsey with 10. D.J. Biggs added nine points and a career-high seven assists.

Wesley led all scorers with 22 for ECCC, followed by 17 off the bench from Baynard and 10 from Toppin.

Northwest outshot ECCC 46-44 percent from the floor and connected on eight 3-pointers.

The Rangers return to action on Friday, Jan. 4 at Mid-South. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. from Marion, Ark.