SENATOBIA - Jones College took a double-digit lead midway through the first half and never looked back, as Northwest fell 102-67 to the Bobcats on Thursday evening.
Northwest gave up 51 points apiece in both halves, dropping to 4-12 on the season and 0-4 in the MACCC. Meanwhile, Jones College improved to 18-3 overall and 5-0 inside the conference.
Jones College set the tone early with a barrage of three-point shots, taking an 11-3 advantage two minutes into the game.
Keanu Patrick responded with back-to-back buckets of his own to trim the deficit to five, only for the Bobcats to stretch the lead to 12 points with 11:18 remaining in the first half.
From there, the Rangers fell victim to a 16-5 run over the next four minutes, allowing the Bobcats to widen the gap to 36-15. Jones College would keep the lead above 20 points down the homestretch of the first half, sending the Rangers to the locker room down 51-27.
Unfortunately, things went from bad to worse for Northwest early in the second half, as the Bobcats pulled further away. Jones College turned a 30-point advantage to a 41-point margin with 9:50 remaining. The opposing team led by as many as 48 points with four minutes left to go, but the Rangers were able to work the margin down to 35 in the closing seconds.
Jones College limited the Rangers to shooting just 38 percent from the floor, while being held to 24 percent from beyond the arc. In contrast, the Bobcats shot 56 percent for the evening and 52 percent from three-point land.
Tyler Spears came off the bench to lead Northwest with 14 points, followed by 11 points from
Nolan Wells.
Four Jones College players reached double figures, led by Dimp Pernell's 22 points and seven rebounds. Ky Pernell had 18 points, followed by 17 off the bench from Malik Franklin and 12 from L.J. Hackman.
Northwest will look to rebound on Saturday against Southwest Mississippi. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 P.M. at Howard Coliseum.
