SUMMIT – Shooting woes were the story for Northwest in Monday evening's 71-51 loss at Southwest Mississippi.

Northwest was held to 19 percent from the floor in the second half and finished the evening shooting just 25 percent, falling to 6-2 on the season as SMCC improved to 5-3 overall.

Northwest achieved its largest advantage of five points with 8:29 remaining in the first half, as R.J. Duhart's three pulled the Rangers ahead 20-15.

Southwest quickly erased any momentum for the Rangers after that, embarking on a 12-2 scoring run that gave the Bears a 27-22 advantage with 4:19 remaining in the half. The Bears continued to stretch their lead over the final moments of the first half, leading 38-27 at halftime.

After a fast break layup from James Richards III cut the Bears' lead to nine with less than 14 minutes to go, Southwest went on an 11-0 run over the next four minutes to push the Rangers into a 20-point deficit, 56-36.

Northwest was unable to make any kind of dent down the stretch and trailed by 15 or more the rest of the way, as the Bears had no trouble wrapping up the home victory.

Jakobi Pearson led all Northwest scorers with 18 points and R.J. Duhart collected a 14-point, 12-rebound double-double in the loss. 

Southwest was led by 19 points and five rebounds from Goodnews Kpegeol, with Spencer Rodgers and Robert Kendrick adding 11 and 10 points, respectively. Xyshan Jenkins and Jalon Andrews also collected 10 rebounds apiece for the Bears.

Northwest will return to action on Wednesday, Dec. 4 against SAU Tech at Howard Coliseum.