SENATOBIA – Northwest held East Mississippi to a season-low 31 percent shooting and led from start to finish in an impressive 79-67 win Thursday night at Howard Coliseum. | Final Stats
The 12-point victory snapped a 10-game losing streak in the series dating back to the 2007-08 season. Now in his second stint at Northwest, head coach Bubba Skelton improved to 15-3 all-time against EMCC.
Northwest moved into a tie for first place in the north division at 4-1 and improved to 11-3 overall – its sixth consecutive win. EMCC dropped to 11-5 overall and to 4-1 in the division, just its fourth loss in league play in the last 41 tries.
The Rangers led 39-27 at the half behind 50 percent shooting.
With their season's leading scorer and rebounder Jarekious Bradley coming off the bench following intermission, EMCC chipped away at Northwest's lead in the second stanza. The Lions got as close as two points, 55-53, following a pair of Bradley free throws at the 8:10 mark, but the Rangers quickly countered with back-to-back buckets to stretch the lead back out to six points.
As the visitors battled foul trouble down the stretch, Northwest made its 47 free throw attempts count and quickly put together a 17-7 run over the next six minutes to stretch the lead back out to 12 and put it out of reach. The Rangers, who rank second in the nation in free throws made and attempted, hit 30 of 47 shots from the charity stripe
DeMarcus McVay led the Rangers with 23 points, seven rebounds and five blocks, followed by 17 points and eight rebounds from Charles Eaton. McVay's 20-point night was his fourth of the season, while his five blocks moved him into a tie for 5th in Northwest history with 72 career blocks.
In one half of play, Bradley recorded his sixth double-double of the season with 25 points and 12 rebounds in 18 minutes. Micah Walker and Mack Foster followed with a dozen points apiece.
EMCC won the rebounding battle 52-46 and outscored Northwest 48-16 off the bench.
Northwest hits the road on Monday, Jan. 28, traveling to Holmes (8-7, 2-2 north) for a big road showdown.
Live video at www.ihigh.com/nwccrangers and live stats at www.sidearmstats.com/northwestms/mbball.
