SENATOBIA - Sophomore center Dorian Booker was in just the right place at the right time.

With Northwest and Copiah-Lincoln knotted up at 87-87 in the closing seconds of overtime, the 7-foot University of New Orleans transfer prevented Monday's high-octane matchup from going into a second overtime, earning the rebound and put-back from Caleb Hunt's shot attempt as time expired, lifting Northwest to the gritty 89-87 victory.

Booker, a native of Hardwood, La., finished the evening with 10 points and seven rebounds off the bench, providing the Rangers a much-needed boost. Freshman Colain Brown stole the show for most of the night though, as the Holly Springs native dished out a career-high 27 points.

Brown scored the first five points of the evening for Northwest, helping the Rangers jump out to a 14-7 lead in the early stages of the contest. However, an 8-0 run gave Co-Lin a 15-14 lead with 14 minutes remaining in the first half, thanks to an offensive spark from Prince Ojukwu.

Though Northwest briefly took the lead back, a three-pointer from Fred Gray, Jr. at the 11:05 mark gave the Wolves a 22-19 lead. From there, Co-Lin retained the advantage on the scoreboard for the remainder of the first half, leading by as much as eight with 1:39 left. The Rangers would go into the locker room down 44-38 at the break.

Co-Lin flirted twice with taking a double-digit advantage early in the second half, but Brown responded twice with a pair of jump shots to keep the Rangers within seven. Trailing 55-47, a layup from Keanu Patrick and a three-pointer from Hunt helped Northwest close the gap to 55-52 with 12:37 remaining in regulation.

For every basket the Rangers got, it seemed that Deven Bates had an answer. The Wolves' sharpshooter pushed the lead back to six just seconds after Hunt's three-pointer, and that was just a small part of his whopping 30-point effort on the evening.

Despite the hot offense from Co-Lin, Northwest refused to fold. Trailing by seven just minutes later, the Rangers went on a mini-run, tying the game at 61-61 with another jumper from Brown at the 10:24 mark. Although the Wolves inched back ahead once more, Northwest eventually flipped the score back in its favor, thanks to a made free throw from Brown with 8:42 remaining.

The tug-of-war continued down the stretch, but the Rangers pulled ahead 76-72 with 1:35 left in the second half, thanks to a layup from Keanu Patrick and a pair of free throws from Tyler Shephard. However, Bates once again responded with a Co-Lin basket on the other end and a pair of Jayden Jackson free throws knotted the score at 76 apiece with 1:03 left.

Brown and Co-Lin's Dakotah Hillard traded baskets to tie the contest at 78-78 with 32 seconds to go. After Shavurdacour Nicholas missed a basket with 25 seconds left, Bates tried to issue the game-winner with eight seconds left. However, his shot attempt failed and was rebounded by Nicholas, who tried to find Brown at the buzzer.

Patrick opened overtime with a layup, followed by Hillard's response just seconds later, once again setting off another back-and-forth battle down the stretch. Hunt drained a three-pointer with 2:08 on the clock, sending the Rangers ahead by three, 87-84. While Northwest managed to get several stops on the other end of the floor, the Rangers failed to stretch the lead.

With 28 seconds left in overtime, Keisean Shields missed a tying three-point attempt for the Wolves, but Co-Lin picked up second, third and even fourth chances, finally culminating in Bates' tying three-pointer with eight seconds to go. The Rangers raced quickly up the floor and though Hunt's initial attempt failed, Booker cashed in with the aforementioned offensive rebound and second-chance basket at the buzzer.

Northwest shot just 33 percent in the first half, but finished 56 percent from the floor in the second half and in overtime, finishing the evening at 46 percent. The Rangers were 17 percent from three-point range and 75 percent from the free throw line.

In contrast, Co-Lin finished just 33 percent from the floor and 24 percent from beyond the arc. The Wolves went 20-for-30 from the charity stripe, finishing at 67 percent.

Though Co-Lin outscored Northwest 26-15 in second chance points, the Rangers out-muscled the Wolves 38-26 in the paint and the two teams finished deadlocked at 13-13 in points off turnovers.

Aside from Brown and Booker's notable efforts, sophomore Ja'Quise Richmond scored 12 points with six rebounds, while Patrick tallied an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double. Nicholas also flirted with a double-double, ending the victorious night with 11 points and nine rebounds.

Booker and Hunt combined for 18 of the Rangers' 24 points off the bench, with Hunt earning eight on the evening.

Two Wolves left with double-double performances, led by a 14-point, 18-rebound effort from Ojukwu and 13 points from Hillard, who was also credited with 14 rebounds. Shields also provided 10 points off the bench for Co-Lin.

With the win, Northwest improved to 6-6 overall and 1-0 in the MACCC. Co-Lin fell to 8-5 on the season and 0-1 in conference play.

Next up for the Rangers is a road trip to East Mississippi on Thursday, January 16 at 7:30 P.M. The Lions and Northwest met last Thursday in a non-conference contest, with EMCC leaving town with an 89-65 loss.

Northwest leads the all-time series between the two teams by an 80-53 margin, dating back to 1952. 

East Mississippi (6-10, 0-1 MACCC) is coming off a 74-67 loss to Mississippi Gulf Coast on Monday evening. The Lions are in the midst of a seven-game losing skid, dating back to December 5.

Fans unable to attend Thursday's contest at EMCC can watch the game at emcclive.com. Read Full Article