BOONEVILLE – Northwest saw its season-long, five-game winning streak snapped Thursday night on the road, as host Northeast outscored the Rangers 51-30 in the second half for a 90-71 win.
Northeast swept the season series and improved to 13-4 overall and 4-3 in the north, while Northwest evened its record to 8-8 overall and 4-3 in north division action.
Northwest darted out to an early nine-point lead, 14-5, and controlled the opening 12 minutes. Everick Morris connected on a pair of 3s and Jordan Hulsey scored six points, as the Rangers hit seven of their first 12 shots.
But the game took a turn for the worse at the 8:51-mark with the Rangers leading 27-19, and the momentum completely shifted in favor of the home team the remainder of the game.
Darius Woods was whistled for a very questionable technical foul after assisting on Domonique Harris' jumper, giving Northeast two shots and the ball.
After the technical foul, Northeast proceeded to put together a 12-2 run that turned an eight-point deficit into a two-point lead, 31-29 with 6:33 to play in the opening half.
Northwest would regain its composure momentarily, taking a 41-39 lead into the half after a pair of rim-shaking dunks from Hulsey and Kenyatta Jones.
The second half was all Northeast, as the host Tigers shot 56 percent to Northwest's 29 percent.
Wtih Northwest leading 45-43 early in the half, Northeast turned up the defensive pressure in forcing four turnovers during a 15-5 spurt that put the home team in front 58-48 with 13:42 remaining.
Northeast would continue to pour it on the rest of the way, building its lead to as many as 20, before pulling away for a 90-71 win in front of a massive home crowd.
The Tigers got 51 bench points on the night, including a game-high 18 points from Jermaine Hollimon who hit 7-of-13 from the floor with four 3s. Acie Vance added 17 points, Deonta Herman chipped in 11 and both Tadarius Coburn and Lavon Hooks had 10.
Northwest was led for a third consecutive game by Harris off the bench, who scored 13 points and added seven rebounds. Woods was the only other scorer in double figures, finishing with 10 points. Kendrick Moore also had eight points off the bench in 15 minutes.
Northwest will return home Monday night to host East Mississippi (14-2, 7-0 north) as part of its "Think Pink" game to raise breast cancer awareness. Fans are encouraged to wear pink for a 7 p.m. tipoff.
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