SENATOBIA - Northwest fell victim to 11 made three-pointers from Mississippi Gulf Coast in the first half of Monday's battle against the Bulldogs, falling 90-72 on Sophomore Night.

MGCCC led the Rangers 54-28 at halftime, but Northwest did manage to score 44 second half points to keep the game competitive in the second half. With the loss, NWCC dropped to 6-18 on the season and 1-12 in conference play, while the Bulldogs moved to 16-10 overall and 6-6 in the MACCC.

Jabbari Barry hit the first three-pointer for Mississippi Gulf Coast and Kaue Kalinowski followed with another outside shot, giving the Bulldogs an early 7-5 lead. The duo would go on to account for 40 of the team's 90 points.

As the three-point shooting continued to increase for the Bulldogs, Northwest fell behind by double digits with 10:52 remaining in the first half. The deficit continued to grow for the Rangers, as MGCCC went ahead by 20 points with 4:19 left before halftime.

After trailing by 26 entering the locker room, Northwest slowly began to cut into the Bulldogs' lead as the second half progressed. A three-pointer from Tyler Spears brought the Rangers under 20 at the 16:25 mark, and the home team eventually pulled within 14 points midway through the second half.

However, Northwest was unable to cut the lead under 10 and Mississippi Gulf Coast eventually went back ahead by 20 points with roughly three minutes to go.

Though the Bulldogs were limited to just two made three-pointers in the second half, MGCCC still ended the evening shooting 44 percent from beyond the arc, compared to just 23 percent by the Rangers. Northwest also shot 43 percent from the floor, compared to a 50 percent average from Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Both teams finished near even in second chance points and points off turnovers, but the Bulldogs outscored the Rangers in the paint (32-24) and off the bench (46-17). 

Spears led all Northwest scorers with 18 points, followed by 11 and 10 from fellow sophomores Keanu Patrick and Shavurdacour Nicholas. Ja'Quise Richmond grabbed a team-high six rebounds to go with nine points.

Four players reached double figures for Mississippi Gulf Coast, led by 22 from Kalinowski and 18 from Barry. Larry Lee also added 16 points and six rebounds, while Mekhi Strong totaled 11 points off the bench.

Monday, March 3 will mark the season finale for the Rangers, as Northwest faces Southwest Mississippi (15-12, 6-6 MACCC) in Summit. Tipoff is expected for 7:30 P.M. Read Full Article