PERKINSTON – In a barnburner of a game, the Northwest Mississippi Community College men's basketball team (16-11, 5-7) fell just short of upsetting Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (22-5, 9-3) in a back-and-forth game that came down to the wire before the Bulldogs earned the 100-98 win.
The game was one that never saw either team get much of an edge over the other, with the largest lead of the night only an eight-point edge that MGCCC was able to hold at the end of the first half and into the early stages of the second.
Northwest would lead early on, opening with a 5-0 run and held a 28-27 lead going into the back half of the opening 20 minutes, but a late surge from the Bulldogs pushed the lead to 50-44 at the half.
Gulf Coast would push the lead to a high-water mark of 60-52 before the Rangers were able to go on their run, keyed mostly by Zahir Gutierrez and Houston Cunningham with the duo combining to go 10-17 from beyond the three-point line.
The Rangers would take their first lead of the second half on a three that pushed them ahead 71-69 only to see the game tied at 71, 73, and 79.
There would be four lead changes in that stretch, and both teams saw the pace of the game speed up to a sprint down the court as the score surged to a tie at 92 with just under two minutes to go.
A gap would form on a 4-0 run by the Bulldogs to get some separation only to see the Rangers tie the game again at 96. Late free throw shooting by MGCCC would help to ice the game and the Bulldogs would hold off the upset minded Rangers for the 100-98 win.
Northwest saw a career best night from Cunningham who finished with 27 points on 8-13 shooting, including a scorching 6-8 from three. Gutierrez added 21 points with both Demetrius Duffy and Chancellor Terry contributing 17 and 11 each.
It was a tough night inside for the Rangers where they were outscored 62-30 in the paint and gave up 29 offensive rebounds. The Rangers did force 24 turnovers though as their defense continues to show its effectiveness in causing chaos for opposing schemes.
The big blow in the game came from the field goal percentage where Gulf Coast shot 46 percent to the 37 percent of the Rangers. NWCC countered at the foul line where they finished 19-21.
Northwest is back at home on Thursday when East Central Community College (6-20, 2-10) will come to Howard Arena for sophomore night. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 pm or after the conclusion of the women's game.
Keep up to date with the men's basketball schedule and more as the postseason looms for the Rangers by visiting nwccrangers.com or following along on Northwest social media accounts.
