BOONEVILLE – Northwest opened the 2015-16 men's basketball season with a split at the Northeast Tipoff Classic on Monday-Tuesday, dropping a 98-90 decision to Jones County before bouncing back with an 83-67 win over Baton Rouge.

Northwest is 1-1 on the young season and will travel to ASU Mid-South on Thursday night for a 7 p.m. tip in West Memphis, Ark.

Against JCJC on Monday, Northwest led by eight early in the contest and by three at the half before the Bobcats caught fire the final 20 minutes and rallied for an eight-point win. JCJC shot 61 percent in the second half after shooting just 35 percent in the first.

JCJC rallied to tie the game at 56-56 with 14:14 to play after a pair of Rickey Holden free throws and never trailed the rest of the way. Northwest got as close as four in the game's final minute.

Five Bobcats finished in double figures, including Christian Robertson who had a team-high 17 on 6-of-6 shooting.

Sophomores Tyrin Jones and Seth LeDay carried a bulk of the scoring load, with Jones scoring a career-high 30 and Leday adding 25 points. South Florida transfer Dre'Kalo Clayton added 14 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three blocks in his Ranger debut.

In Tuesday's win over BRCC, the team's exchanged six leads over the first 5:58 before Northwest took control.

After BRCC took an early 6-2 lead, Northwest responded with a 13-5 run, capped by Keelin Jackson's 3-pointer at the 13:19-mark.

Northwest never trailed the rest of the afternoon, building its lead to as many as 14 in the first half and 23 in the second half, to cruise to a 16-point win. 

LeDay led all scorers with 22 points, adding 13 rebounds and six blocks in 28 minutes. Clayton (13), Mark Partee (11) and Jackson (11) also finished in double figures. Partee closed the two-day tournament with 13 assists and six steals.