BOONEVILLE – Sophomore Jakobi Pearson tied his career-high of 25 points as Northwest attempted to complete an 18-point comeback, falling just short with a 74-64 loss at 24th-ranked Northeast on Tuesday evening.

Northwest fell to 9-4 and 1-2 in the MACJC North while Northeast remained unbeaten at 13-0 and 3-0 in division competition.

Freshman Kavonte Tunstall scored the first five Ranger points in the opening four minutes and a jumper from James Richards III tied the ballgame at 14-14 with 10:13 remaining in the first half.

Although the Rangers had no trouble hanging within striking distance throughout the first half, Northwest struggled to stop Northeast duo Isaac Chapman and DeAnthony Tipler, who combined for 14 Tiger points and a 33-27 halftime lead. Pearson and Tunstall combined for 19 of the Rangers' 27 points at the break.

Neither team shot well in the first half as Northwest was limited to just 23 percent from the floor, compared to 34 percent from the Tigers.

Northeast wasted no time gaining the hot hand to start the second half, going on a 17-5 run to stretch the lead to an 18-point edge, 50-32, with 15 minutes left to go.

Despite the nearly 20-point deficit, Northwest never quit and slowly inched back within striking distance throughout the rest of the second half, starting with a mini 7-0 run that closed the gap to 50-39 with 13 minutes left.

Although Tipler continued to shoot lights out for the Tigers, Northwest did its part to keep responding with baskets on the other end of the floor, as the Rangers eventually cut the lead to seven with less than three minutes remaining.

Even with the Rangers catching their second wind however, Northwest was ultimately unable to complete the rally, dropping its second consecutive division match.

Aside from Pearson's 25-point output, Tunstall finished as the Rangers' second-leading scorer with 10 points and five rebounds. R.J. Duhart collected nine rebounds to lead Northwest in that category.

Tipler's 22 points led the Tigers as one of three players to finish in double figures. Jayven Humphrey added 16 points for Northeast, followed by 11 from Chatman. JonDarius Warren also fell just shy of achieving a double-double with his 10 rebounds and nine assists.

Northwest was held below 30 percent from the floor for just the second time this season, finishing 18-of-63 for 29 percent shooting. On the flip side, the Rangers received 20 points off the bench and outscored the Tigers 11-7 in second chance points, while also collecting 40 rebounds on the evening.

Northwest will return to the friendly confines of Howard Coliseum on Thursday, Jan. 16 against East Mississippi at 7:30 p.m. Links to live stats and broadcast can be found at nwccrangers.com.