SENATOBIA - There were no shortage of highlight-reel plays for Northwest in Monday's 73-71 nail-biter against Pearl River, but the real drama came at the finish line.
After slowly chipping away at a 12-point halftime deficit, the Wildcats clawed back in the second half and even took the lead three times in the final 10 minutes. However, Northwest regained a seven-pint lead with 2:24 to go, only to have Pearl River cut the deficit to four with 28 seconds left.
Northwest missed a free throw with nine seconds left, allowing Pearl River a small chance to steal the win. Ayub Nurhussien missed a three-pointer with seemingly one second left, only for Jermahri Hill to corral the rebound with 0.5 seconds left, drawing a foul. Hill would make both free throws to cut the lead to two and Nurhussien committed a lightning-quick foul with 0.3 seconds to go.
Devin Moore would miss his free throw attempt, allowing Carlous Williams to pull down the rebound. Despite the clock being at all zeros, Pearl River was still somehow able to call for timeout, giving the Wildcats one final chance for the win. The attempt would end with no shot however, as the inbounds pass was slapped away by the Rangers, finally sealing the gritty victory.
Northwest set the tone right out of the gate, as
Joseph Cooper sank a three-pointer just 13 seconds into the contest. From there, the Rangers began to slowly build their lead to six and despite repeated attempts from the Wildcats to tie or take the lead, Northwest widened the gap to 10 points with 4:06 to go in the opening half.
Momentum was another factor in the Rangers' favor throughout the first half. After Pearl River pulled within one midway through the half, Wildcats' coach Chris Oney was assessed a technical foul. The result was a pair of free throws by Cooper, followed by an emphatic dunk from
Jordan Johnson to get the home crowd on their feet.
After Pearl River pulled back within eight late in the first half,
Devin Moore threw down a jam off a feed from
Ke'Darius Stampley, pushing the Rangers back to a 10-point lead. Moore would then close out the half with a steal and a fast break layup, sending Northwest into the locker room with a 44-32 advantage.
Pearl River began to slightly cut into the Rangers' lead early in the second half, but Moore sank a three-pointer with 16:28 left to push the margin back to 10 points. However, the Wildcats responded with a 14-2 run over the next six and a half minutes, taking the lead for the first time on a Ty Moore layup with 9:54 left to go.
Once again, Moore woke up the Northwest offense on the next play, tying the game back at 57 apiece with another one-handed slam off an assist from
Jordan Ealey. Although Pearl River would briefly regain the lead two more times, the Rangers picked up some breathing room late in the half by stretching the score back to a seven-point difference, before the aforementioned drama with less than a minute left.
Statistically, Pearl River shot better than Northwest, as the Wildcats hit 54 percent of their shots and the Rangers hit 48 percent. However, the Rangers benefited from a 28-18 difference in the paint and 12-4 margins in both second chance points and points off the bench.
Johnson tied his season-high of 21 points with five rebounds, followed by 17 points and six assists from Cooper.
Jaylon Sanders and
Devin Moore accounted for 12 and 11 points apiece, respectively, and both players pulled down four rebounds each.
Ealey and Stampley provided the Rangers with a spark off the bench, as the duo combined for 12 points. Ealey also led Northwest with six rebounds, as the team combined for 26 boards.
Cam Brown was the Wildcats' offense, accounting for a career-best 35 points with nine rebounds. Hill and Williams also finished with 12 points apiece for Pearl River.
With the win, Northwest bolstered its record to 5-10 overall and 3-3 in conference play. Meanwhile, Pearl River dropped to 11-5 on the season and 3-3 in the MACCC. The Rangers have also won two of their last three games.
Northwest will aim to start its first winning streak of the season on Thursday, as the Rangers travel to Coahoma at 6 P.M. The Tigers (9-6, 2-3 MACCC) are in the midst of a three-game losing streak with losses to No. 21 Itawamba, Meridian and most recently, Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Thursday's game will be carried by Coahoma at
coahomasports.com/watch.
