GOODMAN – Trailing by 10 with 5:44 to play, Holmes got the benefit of the whistle down the stretch and capitalized off five Ranger turnovers to hand Northwest a heartbreaking 77-76 loss Thursday night on the Bulldogs' home court.

Holmes (14-4, 5-2) went to the free throw line 18 more times than Northwest (12-6, 4-3), including a lopsided 24-9 edge in the second half. Daryl Macon, Holmes' all-conference performer, went to the line 13 times himself against 16 total attempts for the Rangers.

The two teams traded large and long leads in each period, with Holmes leading for nearly 18 minutes in the first half and Northwest leading for the final 13:08 before Holmes' go-ahead basket.

Northwest shot a stifling 61 percent in the second half and turned a 43-35 deficit into a 49-46 lead with 13:35 to play after a Keelin Jackson 3-pointer capped a 14-3 run.

The Rangers' lead grew to 68-58 with 5:44 to play after a monster throw down by Seth LeDay and they would maintain the lead all the way inside the game's final two minutes.

C.J. Chatman's two free throws made it 76-70 with 1:47 to play before two free throws by Macon and a Jamahl Jackson breakaway layup pulled the Bulldogs within 76-75.

Two missed 3-pointers and a Ranger turnover led to the go-ahead basket for Holmes with under a minute left. After a missed 3-pointer by Edward Davis, Cedric Harper's offensive rebound and put-back gave Holmes a 77-76 lead with 27 ticks left.

Back-to-back Ranger turnovers then allowed Holmes to salt things away despite missing four consecutive free throw attempts in the final 11 seconds.

Harper's game-winner followed a Bulldog trend all night, with the home team owning a 27-8 advantage in second chance points and outscoring Northwest 32-14 in points off turnovers and 49-10 off the bench.

Northwest shot 50 percent on the night and had four scorers in double figures in Dre'Kalo Clayton (career-high 20 points, nine rebounds), LeDay (15), Tyrin Jones (14) and Jackson (12). Macon had a team-high 19 off the bench for Holmes, finishing just 3-for-13 from the floor but 12-of-13 from the charity stripe.

Northwest will try and rebound against Itawamba on Monday, Feb. 1. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. in Senatobia.