SENATOBIA – For the first time since the 2020 campaign, the Northwest Mississippi Community College men's basketball team (14-9, 3-5) picked up a win over Northeast Mississippi Community College (15-10, 5-4) thanks to a consistent attack inside and some clutch shooting down the stretch, taking down the Tigers 99-95 on Saturday afternoon.
"I'm proud because our guys really responded well," Head Coach John Redman said. "It's been a tough couple of weeks and tonight we had a bunch of young guys step up and I'm so proud of my freshman."
The early scoring for the Rangers came from inside as the three-point game was slow to develop but it didn't stop Northwest from building a 15-6 lead in the opening five minutes and they would continue to hold a lead of at least two possessions for the rest of the first half.
A push in the final four minutes extended the lead to as much as 15 as turnovers began to haunt the Tigers thanks to the pressure caused by the Northwest press and the only blemish was a halfcourt buzzer beater the cut the game to 47-36 going into the locker rooms.
That buzzer beater turned into what would be a 14-0 run as Northeast came out guns blazing in the second half, scoring the first 11 points of the frame and tying the game at 47 all and again at 54 before taking their first lead since the opening basket of the game at 57-56.
"They hit a three at halftime and that's one of those tough momentum things and we came back out a little sluggish, but the guys responded and stayed together. That's the game of basketball, it's a game of runs and we had the final run," Redman said.
Through much of the middle of the half, Northeast continued to play from the front, but NWCC never let them get any traction to pull away, staying within at least two possessions and tying the game up at 79 all with under ten minutes to play.
The duo of Zahir Gutierrez and Demetrius Duffy went to work from there to push the Rangers back in front to a 90-81 score only to see another push from Northeast close back to a one point game twice, at 94-93 and again at 96-95, but more clutch shots, including several three's and an and-one chance from Ladarius Brown in the final minutes would help to ice the game and improve the Rangers to 3-5 in conference play.
The win is the first for the Rangers over Northeast since the 2020 season when they picked up an 81-66 win in the conference tournament. Their last home win over the Tigers came in 2018 when they won a pair of games with Northeast, 93-85 in the regular season and 83-80 in the postseason.
Gutierrez led the team in points with 25 in the game, going 9-14 from the field for his best shooting performance of the year while also going 6-8 from the foul line. Brown finished with 23 points and was also a threat from the foul line where he went 8-9.
Duffy continued his impressive play, sporting his second double-double of the week with a 19-point, 19-rebound effort, adding a block as well.
"Ladarius Brown with 23 points and he's come into himself. He's an unbelievable gamer and I felt he took really good shots tonight. Duffy with 19 points and 19 rebounds. If that's not a pro, I don't know what is," Redman said.
As a team, the Rangers were nearly spotless from the foul line, going 22-26 while also shooting 50 percent from the field and nearly 40 percent from three.
"I've been having guys shoot free throws every day and obviously it's been good for us but we are getting to the line and that is huge for us," Redman said.
They also won the rebounding battle 52-36 which proved to be big with 20 offensive rebounds for the Rangers.
Northwest is back on the road on Monday as they continue a stretch which has them playing 7 games in 15 days with a road trip to Southwest Mississippi Community College on Monday evening. Opening tip is scheduled for 7:30 pm and you can find more information at nwccrangers.com.
Follow along with the Rangers all season long on Northwest social media accounts.
