SENATOBIA - In front of a large Tuesday night home crowd at Howard Coliseum, Northwest gave the fans exactly what they came for, defeating Piney Woods Post Grad in an electrifying 105-67 season-opening win.
Freshman Terry Joyner led four Rangers in double figures, as the Olive Branch native compiled a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double in his Northwest debut. Sophomore Joseph Cooper also totaled a team-high 17 points, followed by 15 from
Jaylon Sanders and 12 from Tiquale Taylor.
Additionally, Devin Moore provided eight points and eight rebounds off the bench, while Jordan Ealey and Ke'Darius Stampley posted eight points apiece as well.
Northwest trailed twice in the early stages of the contest, but only by a single point each time. A quick layup from Joyner pushed the Rangers back ahead, 8-7, at the 16:34 mark of the first half, sparking a 13-0 run that helped stretch the lead to 21-7.
From there, the Rangers led by double figures for the remainder of the contest, aside from a brief eight-point lead. With just over a minute left in the opening half, Darren Davis found Stampley on a fastbreak layup to give Northwest its first 20-point lead of the evening. Sanders closed off the first half with a quick steal and layup with two seconds left, sending the Rangers into the locker room with a 53-30 advantage.
Piney Woods Post Grad trailed by at least 20 points throughout the entire second half, as the Rangers pulled away for a 30-point margin and later, a 40-point advantage down the stretch. The largest lead of the evening came with 56 seconds to go, as a layup by Dailin Cooperwood gave Northwest a 42-point lead at 104-65.
For Northwest, the win marked the first time the Rangers had scored 100-plus points since a 109-62 victory against Faith Prep in November 2021. Tuesday's 38-point win is also the largest margin of victory since the aforementioned win against Faith Prep (47 points).
Cristian Willis led Piney Woods with 20 points, followed by 11 from Jalyke Gaines-Wyatt. Joshua Holley nearly acquired a double-double for the Tornados, finishing with nine points and eight rebounds, while Reginald Rodges III posted 11 points off the bench.
Northwest shot 48 percent from the floor, but was just 6-of-25 from three-point range (24%) and 1-of-5 from the free throw line. Piney Woods Post Grad shot 73 percent from the free throw line, but were just 36 percent from the floor.
As for total rebounds, the Rangers collected 63 total rebounds to just 33 from the Tornados. It's the most rebounds in a single game for Northwest, since the Rangers came away with 70 against Arkansas Baptist on January 8, 2019.
Northwest will resume play this weekend in the ASU Mid-South Greyhound Classic on November 4-5 in West Memphis, Ark. The Rangers will face National Park College on Friday evening at 5 P.M. and take on the host ASU Mid-South on Saturday at 2 P.M.
Â
