SENATOBIA - For the second straight contest, sophomore guard Jaylon Sanders put up 21 points for Northwest, but the Rangers still dropped a 91-80 decision against East Central on Monday evening.

Sanders, who recorded his fourth 20-point performance of the season, was one of three Rangers to reach double figures in the loss. On the other side, a whopping six players scored in double digits for the Warriors, including a 26-point effort from Tai'Reon Joseph.

Northwest battled toe-to-toe with East Central throughout the contest, but the Warriors did eventually pull away down the stretch. The Rangers remained within striking distance throughout the first half and took one of their only leads on a fast break layup by Jordan Ealey with 6:28 left before halftime.

East Central's largest first half lead came with 58 seconds left, as Julius Ellerbe hit a pair of free throws to push the Warriors to a nine-point advantage. However, Tiquale Taylor gave the Rangers a bit of momentum heading into the locker room, sinking a three-pointer off an assist from Ke'Darius Stampley with 39 seconds to go. 

Joseph tried to counter with a three-pointer of his own on the other end of the floor, but the attempt was no good. Taylor would also miss an attempt at the buzzer, keeping the Warriors ahead 44-38 at the break.

Devin Moore opened the second half with a quick layup to trim the Warriors' lead to four, but a jumper from Damian McKnight and a three-pointer from Joseph stretched the deficit back to nine. Northwest would eventually work the deficit back down to three off another outside jumper from Taylor with 15 minutes left to go.

Just when it seemed as if the Rangers would launch a comeback, Northwest went cold over the next two minutes and change, allowing East Central to take control of the game. Ellerbe's three-pointer was followed by a pair of layups from Antwan Hatten and a fast break dunk from David Berry, as the Rangers fell behind 65-53.

Back-to-back three-pointers from Sanders and Joseph Cooper helped Northwest close the gap to six, but East Central quickly responded by regaining a 13-point lead.

East Central remained ahead by double figures for a good chunk of the final 10 minutes, but Northwest did pull within 10 or less a couple times. Despite their efforts though, the Rangers just couldn't get defensive stops when it mattered most, preventing any real chance of a comeback.

Northwest shot 39 percent from the floor, compared to 45 percent by East Central. The Warriors also made every single one of their seven free throw attempts, while the Rangers finished 11-for-18 and 61 percent from the charity stripe.

In addition to his 21 points, Sanders also finished just shy of a double-double, earning a team-high nine rebounds on the evening. Cooper also nearly achieved a double-double of his own, earning 15 points and eight assists, followed by 12 points and seven rebounds from Moore.

Northwest also finished with 25 points off the bench, led by Taylor's nine points and Ealey's eight-point effort.

In addition to Joseph's 26-point outburst, East Central was also aided by an 18-point, 14-rebound double-double from Ellerbe and 12 points off the bench from Hatten. McKnight (11), Berry (10) and Jay'Lan McNair (10) also recorded double-digit scoring totals.

With the loss, Northwest fell to 5-12 overall and 3-5 in the MACCC, as the Warriors improved to 12-7 on the season and 3-4 in conference play. The Rangers will aim to get back in the win column on Thursday, February 2 at Hinds. Read Full Article