SENATOBIA – Northwest hung with the north division-leading Holmes Bulldogs for an entire 40 minutes and missed a shot at the buzzer that would've forced overtime in a heartbreaking, 77-74 defeat Thursday night at Howard Coliseum. 

Northwest dropped to 8-8 overall (2-5 north) while Holmes improved to 13-5 overall and 6-1 in the north. It's the first time since 2006-07 that the Bulldogs have swept the Rangers in the regular season. 

In a back-and-forth first half, neither team led by more than six and both shot over 46 percent to go into the half knotted at 45-45.

But the biggest play of the game for Northwest came, unexpectedly, at the half when both teams were off the floor. Head coach Bubba Skelton was whistled for his second technical foul of the game and was ejected, leaving assistant coach Shane Oakley to coach the Rangers the final 20 minutes.

Already missing three starters for the game, Northwest was now tasked with having to play without its floor general. 

The Rangers continued to play inspired basketball in the second half and took a 71-67 lead with 3:17 to play after a 3-pointer from Aston Morton and layup from De'Sean Dockery.

Holmes then turned to its All-American candidate and the nation's second-leading scorer, Daryl Macon, who hit five consecutive free throws to start a 10-3 run. Ensuing layups by Jarvis Williams and Cedric Harper made it a 77-74 Bulldog lead with 9 seconds remaining.

After advancing the ball to mid-court and calling a timeout with 4.3 seconds remaining, Northwest had one final chance to force overtime. LaJustin Anderson had a great look at a game-tying 3-pointer right in front of the Rangers' bench, but his attempt hit the back iron as the final buzzer sounded.  

The teams continued to battle for 16 ties and 13 lead changes throughout the game, but it was Holmes who came out on top with a 10-3 run the final 3:17.

For the second time in as many games, free throws were the difference in a Ranger win or loss. Northwest missed 15 free throws (19-of-34) while Holmes connected on 24-of-28 attempts (86 percent).

Dockery paced four Rangers in double figures with 18 in addition to 10 apiece from Sharwyn McGee, Courtney Shannon and David McKnight. Morton finished with eight points and seven rebounds.

Macon had a game-high 19 for Holmes, while Torlorf Thomas scored 11 points and Harper added 10. 

Northwest will try and rebound at Itawamba on Monday, with tipoff set for 8 p.m. from the Davis Event Center.