SENATOBIA - A five-point Holmes lead at halftime gradually grew to double figures later in the second half, as Northwest fell 77-63 to the Bulldogs on Tuesday evening.
For the Rangers, the loss dropped the team's overall record to 6-8 and 1-2 in the MACCC, while Holmes continued on its unprecedented 15-game winning streak, improving to 15-1 on the season and 3-0 in conference play.
Despite the loss, the game was fairly close for most of the night, with both teams trading jabs throughout the first half.
Colain Brown opened the game with an emphatic dunk, assisted by
Tyler Shephard. Christian Parks responded for Holmes with layup on the other end and K.J. Sykes followed with a basket, making it a 4-2 advantage for the Bulldogs.
Several ties and lead changes would take place over the majority of the first half, until the Rangers turned a 17-15 lead into a six-point advantage with 7:19 to go. However, that would mark the largest lead of the game for Northwest, as Holmes regained the lead on a three-pointer from Jakobi Thompson with 2:52 left in the first half.
Aside from a single free throw from
Keanu Patrick, the Rangers went the final three minutes of the first half without a basket, as the Bulldogs went into the break with a 35-30 advantage.
Northwest hung around within five points or less for the first 10 minutes of the second half, but Holmes seemed to stay one step ahead. The Bulldogs finally began to pull away with a mini 6-0 run, punctuated by a pair of fast break layups from Thompson and Cameron Wallace, which pushed Holmes to an 11-point advantage.
Baskets from Patrick and Shephard brought the Rangers back within six with 7:27 left in regulation, but another quick 6-0 run sent the Bulldogs back up by 12 points, 64-52.
Darrian Johnson's jumper with 2:56 left helped Northwest pull back within single digits, only for Holmes to close the game on an 8-3 run.
After shooting 38 percent in the first half, the Rangers finished the evening at 39 percent from the floor, while the Bulldogs shot 50 percent. Northwest also finished 27 percent from beyond the arc and 64 percent from the free throw line, while Holmes finished 31 percent from three-point range and 79 percent from the charity stripe.
Turnovers proved costly for the Rangers, as the Bulldogs outscored Northwest 20-9 in points off turnovers. Holmes also finished with a 21-15 margin in bench points and 10-4 in fast break points.
Shephard led the Rangers with 19 points and six rebounds, followed by 11 points off the bench from Johnson.
Dorian Booker finished with a team-high nine rebounds, while Brown and Patrick provided nine points apiece.
Cameron Wallace led Holmes with 23 points, including nine from the free throw line. Sykes added 18 points for the Bulldogs, followed by 11 points and eight rebounds from Trey Smith. Thompson provided the biggest spark off the bench for Holmes, contributing 10 points.
Next up for Northwest is a road trip to No. 7 Jones College on Thursday, January 23. The Bobcats (16-3, 2-1 MACCC) are coming off a 67-54 victory against Mississippi Gulf Coast, and the Rangers lead the all-time series, 13-9.
Tipoff is set for 7:30 P.M. with live coverage on
jcbobcats.com/watch. Tickets are also available
here.
