SENATOBIA - Northwest led 32-26 at the break, but East Mississippi outscored the Rangers 40-23 in the second half to hand the home team a loss at Howard Coliseum on Wednesday night.

DeAntoni Gordon led the Rangers with 17 points in the loss, as Northwest dropped to 5-7 on the season. East Mississippi improved to 10-4 overall and 8-3 in MACCC competition.

Northwest jumped out to an early 13-4 advantage and led until the 8:26 mark of the first half, when EMCC's Hunter McCutcheon drilled a three-pointer off a feed from Blake Butler. McCutcheon struck again 20 seconds later on a layup in the paint that would give the Lions a 19-17 lead.

After Cori Bell came off the bench and tied the contest at 19-19 with a quick jumper, Northwest went on a 9-2 run to regain a 28-21 lead with less than three minutes remaining in the first half. 

East Mississippi trimmed the lead down to three off a layup from Arecko Gipson, Jr. with 26 seconds to go, but a three-pointer from Forte Prater with six seconds left sent the Rangers to the locker room with the six-point advantage.

EMCC opened the second half with an emphatic dunk from Traemond Pittman, sparking a 19-10 run that would give the Lions a 45-42 lead with 10:48 remaining in the contest.

A pair of free throws from James Richards III cut the Lions' lead back down to one, but that would be as close as the Rangers would come the rest of the way. East Mississippi used a 12-2 run over a three and a half minute span to create an 11-point separation, 57-46.

Richards III helped the Rangers pull back within eight points with two more free throws at the 4:29 mark, but the Lions closed out the game on a 7-4 stretch to stay ahead by double digits until the final buzzer.

In addition to his 17 points, Gordon also totaled five rebounds and four blocks. Richards III scored 12 points for his fourth game in double figures, while Carlos Curry lead the Rangers with seven rebounds.

Four East Mississippi players posted double figures, led by 14 from McCutcheon. 

Northwest shot 35 percent from the floor and 12 percent from three-point range, while the Lions finished with 47 percent shooting. East Mississippi also bested the Rangers in rebounds (45-30) and points in the paint (36-14).

Northwest will have a break in regular season action until Thursday, March 18 against Coahoma. It will be the third meeting between the two teams, as the Rangers have swept the Tigers in the previous matchups this season.

Tipoff from Howard Coliseum is set for 6 P.M. with live stats and a live broadcast available on nwccrangers.com/watch.