FULTON - Despite holding a five point lead at halftime, Northwest was outscored 40-29 in the second half as Itawamba rallied back for a 70-65 victory on Monday evening.

With the loss, Northwest dropped to 3-4 on the season and remains winless in road games for the 2021 season. The Indians improved their record to 3-4 and avenged a loss to the Rangers that came on January 25.

Northwest led 13-8 over seven minutes into the contest and the game remained close the entire way. ICC earned a two-point advantage with 7:31 left in the first half, only for the Rangers to take a 36-31 lead into the halftime break.

Northwest captured its largest lead of 10 points with a 52-42 advantage at the 14-minute mark of the second half, only for the Indians to regain control on a Brandon Brown layup with 8:04 remaining.

Itawamba led by six with less than two minutes remaining and managed to hold on to the lead down the stretch.

Freshman guard Forte Prater led the Rangers with 22 points, while DeAntoni Gordon posted 18 points for his third straight game in double figures.

Northwest was held to just 13 points off the bench, led by seven from Carlos Curry.

Northwest returns home to Howard Coliseum on Thursday, February 25 for a 6 P.M. tipoff against Northeast. The Tigers edged the Rangers less than a month ago in Booneville, earning a 64-54 victory.