SENATOBIA – Tied with Tennessee Prep at the half, Kendrick Fountain and Mike Robinson helped lead a balanced offensive attack where all 11 Rangers who saw the floor scored as Northwest pulled away for a 74-57 victory Thursday night at Howard Coliseum.

Northwest (3-2) was able to build a double digit lead late in the second half thanks to smothering defense and took advantage of 29 Diplomat Lion turnovers.

Tennessee Prep led for nearly seven minutes in the opening half and by as many as four with 15:29 to play in the first.

A brief five-point spurt on an Alec Rayburn 3-pointer and Nick Edwards jumper gave Northwest an 18-13 lead with 10:30 left in the half before the Diplomats responded with an 11-2 run to pull ahead by four.

The teams exchanged small leads over the final 10 minutes, with Eric Rustin's jumper tying the game at 27-27 for TPA at the half.

Devon Benson's layup and free throw to start the second half broke a fifth tie in the game and put Northwest ahead 30-29.

The Rangers would never trail the rest of the half, dominating in the paint and building a 17-point lead with just over three minutes to play.

Northwest scored 54 of its 74 points in the paint and outscored the TPA bench 33-10, nine of those from Edwards.

Jarred Roser led TPA with 16 points while Eric Rustin flirted with a triple-double with 11 points, 17 rebounds and eight blocks.

Both teams shot over 40 percent for the game but TPA was just 1-of-17 from beyond the arc.

Northwest will return to action on Monday, Nov. 26 when they play host to nationally-ranked Missouri State West Plains.