SENATOBIA – Riding a five-game winning streak into Thursday night's tough matchup against Lawson State, Northwest got to the charity stripe a season-high 52 times but missed 22 of them in a 96-88 loss to the Cougars.

Lawson State, who has five Division I players on its roster, improved to 5-3. Northwest dropped to 5-2.

Tyrin Jones' 3-pointer put Northwest on the board first before 11 unanswered by the Cougars gave them an early eight-point advantage.

Northwest rallied to take a 19-17 lead at the 12:04-mark after a Shelby McEwen 3-pointer, only to see Lawson State respond with another small run to take a 49-39 lead at the half.

Lawson dominated the glass in the opening 20 minutes, outscoring Northwest 15-2 in second chance points and owning a 30-14 edge on the boards.

The Cougars were able to build their lead up to as many as 16 points with 13:12 to play, capitalizing off more Ranger missed free throws.

Northwest was able to cut the deficit to four with under a minute to play thanks to a 10-3 run that was sparked by six straight points from Seth LeDay and Dre'Kalo Clayton's three-ball on the wing.

Dontae Coleman iced the game at the line for Lawson with six consecutive made free throws.

Northwest out-shot Lawson from the floor and beyond the arc but missed 22 free throws and was out-rebounded 59-26 in the eight-point loss.

Five Rangers finished in double figures, led by LeDay's 21 points and 10 rebounds, 14 points from Jones and 11 apiece from Clayton, Partee and C.J. Chatman. Partee added seven assists, giving him a team-high 43 on the year against 10 turnovers.

Northwest will host Faith Prep Academy at 4 p.m. Friday to conclude its weekday tournament.