SENATOBIA – After a slow start in their first game back from the Thanksgiving break, the Northwest Mississippi Community College men's basketball team (6-3) rallied from down double digits to take down Calhoun Community College (4-6) thanks to a 72-point second half on the way to a 118-106 win at Howard Coliseum on Thursday night.
"I think in those games after break you are just trying to get guys back to the standard and how hard we play," Head Coach John Redman said. "I thought in the first half we just didn't play hard enough and I'm proud of how our guys came out in the second half. 72 points in a half is crazy and I'm really proud of the guys."
The Rangers found themselves in an early 17-11 hole but with ten minutes to go in the first half rallied back to take their first lead of the game on a 17-8 run, going up 28-25 with 9:22 left in the opening 20 minutes.
Calhoun briefly took the lead back at 29-28, but the Rangers roared back to go up 39-32 with just under four minutes left but would only score seven more points down the stretch to go into the break down 52-46 on a 24-7 burst from the Warhawks.
The interior defense was a key in that opening stretch for Calhoun, and that was a focus for the Rangers who adjusted their attack on the zone defense and in the second half, it paid dividends.
"We knew they were going to play the 1-3-1 and 1-2-2 trap and after halftime we made an adjustment and we switched DK and Meech and those guys made shots," Redman said. "We shot 35 threes and I thought we could have shot more."
The Rangers took the early punches and were down 68-58 with 15:31 to go in the game but answered with an 11-1 run to tie the score at 69 and after a couple of lead changes, took the lead away from Calhoun for good as they heated up from beyond the three-point line, particularly from the stroke of Zahir Gutierrez who finished the night 5-8 from three and had 23 of his 33 points in the second half.
"Being in the gym and staying in the gym a lot is transferring to the games," Gutierrez said. "The team shot really good too. I think we shot 70 percent in the second half and that is big time. That's going to win ballgames later on in the year."
The lead hit double figures at 101-89 with another short burst triggered by a pair of the eleven steals by the Rangers in the game, and a layup by Chancellor Terry essentially closed the door on the way to the highest point total of the season for Northwest in a 118-106 win, and 72 second half points. It was the highest scoring game for Northwest since they scored 119 against Tennessee Prep on January 6, 2020. It is also the sixth game this season the Rangers have scored over 100 points. NWCC has scored 100 points just seven times total prior to this season going back to 2018.
Gutierrez led the team in scoring with the most points by a Ranger since Ty Gordon had 36 on February 7, 2019 and was joined by Dakota Morris who added 25 points on an 8-14 night from the field. Terry also finished in double figures with 13 and both Demetrius Duffy and Houston Cunningham added nine each with Duffy coming close to another double-double with 12 rebounds.
Josiah Nelson and Grant Hutton each had eight and Hutton had one of the biggest dunks of the season in the first half in the win to help trigger and Northwest rally.
Only two Rangers didn't score in the game, and they shared the ball well with 23 assists as a team while only turning the ball over 14 times, something with has been a focus for them as a group.
"That was big time. We talked about it in the huddle and Trey and the other guys stepped up and handled the ball really well for us. The less turnovers we have the harder it is going to be to stop us," Gutierrez said.
The Rangers also won the rebounding battle 44-42, although they did give up 19 offensive rebounds which Redman said needs to be cut down moving forward.
Shooting was a major boost for the Rangers in the second half where they went 70 percent from the field and shot 10-15 from three on the way to a 45 percent night from beyond the arc in the game. They also were very efficient from the foul line, shooting 16-20 for an 80 percent clip.
"When you shoot 67 percent in the second half that is pretty good and we talk all the time to our point guards that we want to catch and shoot three's. Guys should be able to walk into it and shoot it and we work on those every day," Redman said.
Northwest doesn't have a lot of time to rest after this one as they are beginning a stretch of three games in five days. They will host Mississippi Delta Community College on Saturday in a rescheduled game from November 11th before hosting Holmes Community College on Monday evening at 7:30 pm.
"We definitely have to go and get some sleep and recover, take care of our bodies and be ready to go for these next two and hopefully start a winning streak," Gutierrez said.
You can view the full schedule and keep up with all things Ranger basketball by visiting nwccrangers.com or by following Northwest social media accounts.
