WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. – Whistles were not kind to Northwest in the first half of the Rangers' 80-71 loss at ASU Mid-South on Monday evening.
Northwest was hit with 19 fouls as seven players were assessed with two or more infractions in the first half, putting the Greyhounds at the line early and often.
Despite the foul trouble, the Rangers were in command or within striking distance for the entirety of the first half, taking its largest lead of nine off a jumper from
James Richards III five minutes into the contest.
Both teams spent the first half jockeying back and forth for the lead, with the home team taking its largest lead of three at 27-24 thanks to a pair of free throws from Ike Moore with five minutes remaining until halftime.
A three-pointer from
Milton McGee, Jr. and a layup from
Mario Fenner, Jr. helped Northwest take a 33-29 lead with 2:23 left but both teams had trouble scoring over the final two minutes of action. Monroe Carr's three-pointer with 58 seconds left helped the Greyhounds cut the Ranger advantage to one at the break, 33-32.
Northwest continued the battle in the early minutes of the second half with several ties and lead changes, but the Greyhounds slowly began to break away with a six-point lead with 13:25 left to go in regulation.
Northwest carved back into the deficit to tie the contest at 55 and even regained a couple small leads. With the game knotted up at 62 with 6:41 left, ASU Mid-South once again began to pull away, closing the game on 19-9 run to seal the 80-71 win.
Five Rangers finished in double figures, led by 16 points and five rebounds from Richards and an 11-point, 12-rebound double-double from
R.J. Duhart. McGee and
Kavonte Tunstall scored 13 while
Jakobi Pearson added 12 in the loss.
Jalen Lynn led ASU Mid-South with 22 points while Moore and Carr provided 17 and 14 points, respectively. Zach Byrd also chipped in a double-double for the Greyhounds (10 points, 11 rebounds).
Northwest shot 30 percent from the floor and 24 percent from three-point range, while ASU Mid-South shot 37 percent as a team and 30 percent from beyond the arc.
Both teams also finished with 31 points off the bench.
With the loss, Northwest drops to 2-1 on the season. The Rangers will host Southwest Mississippi on Thursday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. from Howard Coliseum.
