GOODMAN – A 21-point, 16-rebound effort from Holmes' Josiah Lewis wasn't enough to keep Northwest from earning a quality road victory on Thursday evening in Goodman.

With the win, Northwest improved to 11-5 overall and finished the first leg of MACJC North Division competition at an even 3-3. Holmes dropped to 10-6 and 2-3 in division play.

Jakobi Pearson got the Rangers on the board first with a jumper, only to see Holmes use a Jaylen Lester three-pointer and a Tyler Williams layup to make it an early 5-2 lead for the host Bulldogs.

Both teams spent the majority of the first half nipping at each others' heels, trading leads back and forth. Holmes' largest advantage came at the 6:56 mark of the first half as a Jartavia Green three-pointer gave the Bulldogs a four-point lead, 21-17.

Milton McGee, Jr. immediately responded with a three of his own to cut the lead down to one, sparking the Rangers to close the first half on a 13-4 run to take a 30-25 lead into the break.

Northwest carried over the momentum into the second half as well, storming out of the locker room on an 8-2 run to push its lead to double digits at 38-27.

After Kavonte Tunstall's three-point basket helped Northwest take its largest lead of 12, Holmes began to pull within striking distance after a four-minute scoring drought between both teams. Trailing 47-37 with less than 10 minutes to go, the Bulldogs used two baskets from Lewis and a layup from David Brown to pull within four, 47-43, with eight minutes left in regulation.

Kaleb Higgins' three-pointer pulled Holmes within one and despite earning a layup from James Richards III, Green responded with another three for the Bulldogs, tying the contest for the first time since the 7:50 mark of the first half.

A 51-51 tie would be as close as the Bulldogs would come to regaining the lead however, as Northwest earned back some breathing room with a 7-0 run to make it a 58-51 game with 2:34 remaining.

Holmes tried once more to earn control down the stretch, cutting the Rangers' lead to 58-56 with 18 seconds to go. Northwest did its part at the free throw line though, as Pearson and Tomias Brand sank four free throws to escape with the close division win.

Pearson led Northwest with 15 points and three rebounds while Richards totaled nine points and six boards. Brand collected eight points along with seven apiece from R.J. Duhart and Montez Allen.

Both teams finished near even in total shooting, with Holmes finishing 40 percent from the floor compared to 39 from the Rangers. Northwest outscored the Bulldogs 28-22 in the paint but Holmes would outdo Northwest 18-7 in second chance points.

Northwest will step out of division play on Monday, Jan. 27 against ASU Mid-South before hosting Itawamba on Thursday, Jan. 30 to kick off the second leg of MACJC North action. Both games are set for 7:30 tipoff times at Howard Coliseum with all the action carried live on nwccrangers.com/watch.