MERIDIAN - Northwest fell behind 9-0 five minutes into Thursday evening's road contest at Meridian, and the Eagles pulled out to a 16-2 lead midway through the first half, as the Rangers dropped a 79-60 loss.
Freshman
Caleb Hunt led Northwest with 12 points on the evening, as the Rangers dropped to 6-17 on the season and 1-11 in the MACCC. Meridian improved to 9-17 overall and 2-9 in conference play.
Northwest trailed 18-6, but pulled within single digits with 7:21 left in the first half. However, the Eagles eventually regained some momentum, sinking a pair of three-pointers just before halftime, as the Rangers trailed by 12 at the break.
Meridian came out of the locker room on a 7-0 run in the first two minutes, stretching the Eagles' lead to 42-23. From there, MCC never looked back over the remainder of the second half.
Northwest shot 46 percent from the floor and 33 percent from beyond the arc, while the Eagles shot 50 percent and 48 percent from three-point range. The Rangers also finished the evening 9-for-19 from free throw range, while Meridian ended with a 67 percent average from the charity stripe.
Aside from Hunt's performance,
Shavurdacour Nicholas and
Tyler Spears finished with 10 points apiece.
Ja'Quise Richmond led Northwest in the rebound column, finishing with seven on the evening.
Four Eagles finished in double figures, led by 19 points from Tre Taylor and 17 from Michael James. Chance Sutton nearly completed a double-double, scoring 11 points with 10 rebounds, while Javion Johnson added 14 points.
Northwest will host Mississippi Gulf Coast on Monday, February 24 for Sophomore Night and the home finale. The Bulldogs (15-10, 5-6 MACCC) are coming off a bye date, with their most recent win being a close 54-53 decision last Monday against Meridian.
Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 P.M. with broadcast coverage on Action News 5 Plus and
Ranger TV.
