SENATOBIA - Despite the assistance of a team-high 20 points and 14 rebounds from freshman Isaiah Gaines, Northwest was unable to remain undefeated on the home floor, as East Mississippi earned a 70-64 conference-opening victory on Thursday evening.

With the loss, Northwest fell to 6-2 on the season and 0-1 in MACCC competition. EMCC improved to 6-2 and 1-0 in conference play.

From the opening basket, it became evident that three-point shooting would play a major role in the outcome of the contest. Joseph Cooper got the Rangers on the board first with an outside shot and another jumper the next trip down the floor, but the Lions countered with back-to-back threes from Danny Washington and Nick Walker, taking a quick one-point lead.

East Mississippi continued to light it up from beyond the arc, draining three consecutive shots from Washington and Jakorie Smith to keep the Lions ahead five minutes into the first half. 

Although the Rangers were able to make shots inside the paint, EMCC continued to find success from three-point range. After a jam from Ethan Pickett brought Northwest back within two, 22-20, Blake Butler provided the Lions with a trio of three-pointers, pushing the Rangers into an 11-point deficit midway through the half.

Though Northwest would cut the lead down to seven twice over the final 10 minutes, East Mississippi remained ahead by double figures for most of the half and took a 46-37 lead into the locker room.

Northwest opened the second half by trimming the Lions' advantage to five, but EMCC quickly pushed the deficit back to 11 on a Brandon Deravine jumper. Both teams would spend the next five minutes trading baskets as the Rangers remained within striking distance.

Trailing by 13 with 5:30 remaining in the contest, a layup from Cooper and a three from London Taylor sparked a 9-0 run that helped the Rangers pull within four, 64-60, and prompt an East Mississippi timeout. The rally stopped there however, as back-to-back baskets pushed the Lions' lead back to eight and a nearly three-minute scoring drought kept the Rangers behind the rest of the way.

Cooper's 19 points were good for second in scoring for the Rangers, while Taylor capped his night with 11 points. Zandon Haralson only scored two points off the bench, but did provide 10 rebounds.

As a team, East Mississippi shot 33 percent from three-point range, while the Rangers were held to just 16 percent. In total, the Lions shot 37 percent from the floor, just slightly ahead of a 34 percent evening for Northwest. The Lions also outmatched Northwest 17-3 in bench points.

Butler compiled the Lions' only double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds), but Smith led with 14 points. Washington also accounted for 13 points and Nick Walker totaled nine points and a team-high 11 rebounds.

Northwest will travel to Holmes on Monday, December 6 for a 6 P.M. tipoff in Goodman. The Rangers will then face SAU Tech in a non-conference matchup on Thursday, December 9, closing the book on the first half of the 2021-22 schedule.