SENATOBIA - Thanks to a second half where Northwest outscored Mississippi Delta 40-26, the Rangers notched a non-conference home win on Thursday evening, earning a 72-56 triumph against the Trojans.
Northwest fell behind 5-0 out of the gate and trailed by as many as nine within the first five minutes of the contest. However, fortunes changed for the Rangers after back-to-back baskets from
Thomas Tangle and
Jordan Ealey, as Northwest pulled back within four.
Trailing 14-10 at the 12-minute mark,
Ja'Quise Richmond added a layup and free throw, followed by another three-pointer from Tangle, tying the game at 14 apiece.
Darren Davis then scored on a layup, giving Northwest a 16-14 lead midway through the first half.
Both teams would jockey for the lead over the remainder of the half, but Northwest pushed its lead to as many as seven points twice in the half. Leading 30-23 with 3:36 remaining, the Rangers surrendered a three-pointer from Robert Millender and a pair of Trojan layups down the stretch, ending the first half with a narrow 32-30 advantage.
Neither team shot particularly well in the first half, but Northwest went into the locker room with a narrow shooting advantage. The Rangers shot 36 percent from the floor, compared to Mississippi Delta's 32 percent shooting percentage. Northwest also hit 36 percent of its three-point attempts, while the Trojans went just 4-of-13 from beyond the arc.
Fouls were hard to find in the first half, as just five calls were made, including four on Mississippi Delta. Only two free throw was attempted in the first half, which was successfully made by Richmond.
Davis opened the second half on a strong note for Northwest, hitting a three-pointer less than 30 seconds in. However, Mississippi Delta kept pace, remaining within five points for the first few minutes.
Slowly, Northwest began to tire down the Trojans as the second half went on. After Davis made a fastbreak layup off his own steal to stretch the lead to seven points, the Rangers eventually got ahead by double figures, as a jumper from Davis and a three-pointer from
Marquavous Jones gave Northwest the 55-45 advantage.
Mississippi Delta briefly cut the deficit under 10 points off a Javardrick Jackson layup at the 8:44 mark, but
DeShun Dunn responded with a fastbreak layup and Northwest led by double figures the rest of the way.
Davis had 17 points to lead the Rangers, while adding six rebounds, four assists and four steals.
Shavurdacour Nicholas narrowly missed out on a double-double, finishing with 12 points and eight rebounds, along with two assists, two blocks and a pair of steals.
Tangle also scored nine points and six rebounds for Northwest, while Dunn and
Devin Moore provided seven points each.
Shah Hall did not score, but led the Rangers with 10 rebounds.
Northwest finished the evening shooting 39 percent, while also shooting 38 percent from three-point range. Mississippi Delta finished with a 33 percent shooting average from the floor and just 20 percent from beyond the arc.
Despite giving up 42 points in the paint, the Rangers outmatched Mississippi Delta in points off the bench, 36-18. Northwest also outscored the Trojans, 17-8, in second chance points.
Daivion Traylor led all scorers with 19 points and finished with the game's only double-double, earning 10 rebounds. Elijah Hollins added eight points and three rebounds to further aid Mississippi Delta.
With the win, Northwest improved to 2-6 on the season, while Mississippi Delta dropped to 4-4 overall. The two teams will meet again in Moorhead on February 5 for conference play.
Northwest will close out the semester with two games in the Harvey Childers Classic on December 8-9, hosted by Northeast in Booneville. The Rangers will face Motlow State on Friday at 5:30 P.M. and State Fair on Saturday at 2 P.M.
