MOORHEAD – Two Dante Sterling free throws and a tip-in by Therrell Gosier II in the game's final 34 seconds allowed Northwest to escape MDCC with a 74-72 victory Thursday night at J.T. Hall Coliseum.

Northwest improved to 9-4 overall and 2-2 in the north, while MDCC fell to 6-8 overall and 1-2 in division play.

The game took several turns in the final 11 minutes, with Northwest stretching its lead to as many as nine, only to see the Trojans respond with a 14-2 run to take a 62-59 lead with 8:05 remaining.

With three ties in the final 1:42 alone, Sterling's pair of free throws gave the Rangers a 1-point lead and Gosier's huge tip-in with six seconds left made it 74-71.

But with a final attempt to tie the game on a 3-pointer, Sterling was whistled for a questionable foul on Xa'Vavier Jones on the other end with 0.3 seconds left, giving the Trojans hope.

Jones missed on the first free throw, however, made the second and then a lane violation was called to give possession back to Northwest to secure the win.

Sterling scored 17 of his game-high 22 points in the first half and Dakota Dailey added 15 points to pace the Rangers in the scoring column. Northwest hit 10 3-pointers on the night, six of them coming from Sterling.

MDCC was paced by Jones' 17 and Michael Sission's 16 points and 13 rebounds.

Northwest will host Coahoma on Monday, Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. Bryan Fenley has the call at nwccrangers.com/watch.