FULTON – Trailing from start to finish and by as many as 21 with 12:53 left, Northwest mounted a major comeback and got to within four late in the game before Itawamba was able to pull away for a 78-66 win.

Itawamba improved to 7-12 overall and 3-5 in the north while Northwest dropped its third straight game to fall to 8-9 overall and 2-6 in division play.

Austin Timms, Kevis Fleming and Lakee Westbrook all scored in double figures in the first half for ICC who closed the final 6:17 on an 18-6 run to take a 43-27 lead at the break.

ICC won the first half from the free throw line (10-for-10) and beyond the arc (5-for-10), holding Northwest to 3-of-7 from the line and 0-for-10 from downtown.

Minus three starters for a second straight game, Northwest fell behind 56-35 with 12:53 to play before showing a lot of heart to fight back and make it a game late.

A 16-4 run over a 5 minute span, capped by back-to-back 3s from Courtney Shannon and Aston Morton, pulled the Rangers within 67-63 with 3:28 to go.

With a chance to pull the game within one possession with under 3 minutes left, Northwest missed a pair of free throws and ICC took advantage by closing the game on an 11-3 run.

Westbrook and Timms combined to score the final 13 points for the Indians, with Timms' dunk with 18 seconds left putting the icing on the cake. 

Free throw shooting once again doomed the Rangers, finishing just 14-for-31 (45 percent). During Northwest's three-game losing streak, the Rangers have missed a combined 48 shots from the charity stripe.

Sharwyn McGee finished with 18 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks before fouling out with 4:16 remaining. Dockery added 17 points and Morton closed with 15 points, six rebounds and five steals.

Northwest will try and get back on track Thursday at Northeast. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.