Rangers use big first half to earn road win at Copiah-Lincoln
The Northwest Mississippi Community College Rangers didn't play well for the full 40 minutes against Copiah-Lincoln Nov. 19 in Wesson.
As it turned out, the first 20 minutes were all Northwest needed to earn a 75-61 victory and improve to 4-1 overall.
The Rangers opened the contest by making nine of their first 13 attempts from the field to claim a 30-9 lead with 10.22 left in the first half. Northwest sophomore guard Justin Gillard of Oxford nailed a three-pointer at the close of the first period to lift the Rangers to a 52-36 advantage at halftime.
Northwest made 21 of 48 shots from the floor in the opening half.
Copiah-Lincoln capitalized on some Ranger mistakes at the beginning of the second stanza and cut its deficit to 52-44 with 14:21 remaining. Northwest responded with a 14-3 run to put the game away as Gillard drained another three-pointer and freshman forward Akeem Anderson of Memphis scored six consecutive points in the paint.
The Rangers shot just 32.4 percent in the second half by connecting on 11 of 34 attempts.
Anderson led Northwest with 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while Gillard added 13 points. Freshman forward Reggie Brown of Olive Branch registered a season-high 16 rebounds to go along with his 12 points.
The Rangers host Northwest Shoals, (Ala.) Saturday, Nov. 21 at Howard
Coliseum in Senatobia. The game starts at 4 p.m.
Gillard's 22 points leads Rangers to victory against Volunteer State
Northwest
Mississippi Community College guard Justin Gillard (pictured left) notched a game-high 22
points to lead the Rangers to a 79-64 victory against the Volunteer State
Pioneers Nov. 17 at Howard Coliseum in Senatobia.
Gillard, a sophomore from Oxford, also racked up nine rebounds, five assists, three steals, and two blocked shots to help Northwest improve its record to 3-1. Gillard ranks in the top 25 in the country in scoring averaging 20.5 points per game.
The Rangers completed a series sweep of Volunteer State. Northwest opened the season with an 82-60 victory against the Pioneers Nov. 3 in Gallatin, Tenn.
A dunk by Gillard and a basket by Rico Key of Batesville broke a 21-21 tie and allowed the Rangers to close the first half with a 15-6 run and claim a 36-27 advantage at halftime.
Northwest stretched its lead to 56-36 in the first six minutes of the second half thanks to a three-pointer by Everick Morris of Olive Branch and buckets from Reggie Fondren of Memphis and Reggie Brown of Olive Branch. Gillard converted a three-point play with 3:06 left in the contest to give the Rangers a 77-52 cushion wrap up the win.
Brown was the only other Northwest player in double figures with 11 points, while Martrevious Sanders of Tunica and Akeem Anderson of Memphis added nine points each.
Brown and Anderson also chipped in with seven rebounds each.
Northwest loses in final seconds at Hinds
The Northwest Mississippi Community College Rangers had to be feeling good about themselves in their match up with the Hinds Bulldogs Nov. 12 in Utica.
After
all, Northwest had fought back from a 13-point deficit in the first half and
held an 84-78 advantage with 1:19 left in the contest. But the Rangers had
trouble finishing the game as Hinds scored the final eight points of the
night to claim an 86-84 victory.
The loss dropped Northwest to 2-1 this season.
A dunk by Northwest freshman forward Akeem Anderson of Memphis with 1:19 remaining gave the Rangers the six-point lead. Hinds answered with a pair of free throws and a couple of three-point baskets to claim the win.
The first three-pointer cut Northwest's lead to 84-83 with 32 seconds left, while the second gave Hinds an 86-84 advantage with nine seconds showing on the clock.
The Rangers had a shot to win the game on the final possession of the night, but Justin Gillard of Oxford was short on a three-point attempt at the buzzer.
Gillard finished with a game-high 29 points by connecting on 10 of 21 field goals and seven of eight free throws. He also added five rebounds, five assists, and five steals.
Northwest started the game slowly and trailed 34-21 with 7:03 left in the first half. The Bulldogs led 51-42 at halftime.
The inspired Rangers opened the second period on fire and out-scored Hinds 30-8 in the first 12 minutes to claim a 72-59 margin with 7:41 remaining. During that stretch, Northwest freshman guard Martrevious Sanders of Tunica scored 10 points, while freshman guard Reggie Fondren of Memphis nailed a three-pointer.
Hinds countered with several big shots to climb back into the contest.
Sanders finished with 14 points for the Rangers, while Anderson added 13.
Freshman forward Reggie Brown of Olive Branch added 11 points and nine
rebounds.
Key's threes help Rangers knock off Arkansas Baptist
For the second consecutive game, Rico Key came off the bench to lead the Northwest Mississippi Community College Rangers to an 82-60 home-opening victory against the Arkansas Baptist Buffalos Nov. 9 at Howard Coliseum in Senatobia.
Key, a freshman guard from Batesville, nailed five of eight three-point baskets and finished with 21 points to help Northwest improve to 2-0. Key scored 20 points in the Rangers' season-opening victory against Volunteer State Nov. 3 in Gallatin, Tenn.
Key and freshman Josh R
odgers
of Byhalia each scored eight points in the first half to help Northwest
build a 33-26 lead at intermission.
The Rangers opened the second half with a 26-11 run to claim a 59--37 advantage with 11:06 left in the contest. During that stretch, Key drained back-to-back three pointers. Northwest sophomore Justin Gillard of Oxford and freshman Everick Morris of Olive Branch also got in on the act by adding three-point baskets of their own.
Key (pictured left) added another three-pointer with 10:11 left to push the Rangers' lead to 62-39 and seal the victory.
Northwest shot 42.5 percent from the field in the contest by converting 31 of 73 attempts, including nine of 23 three-pointers. The Rangers also racked up 16 steals.
Gillard added 16 points for Northwest, while Rodgers chipped in with 13, and Martrevious Sanders of Tunica scored 10. Sanders also added a team-high seven assists.
Reggie Brown of Olive Branch was the Rangers' top rebounder with eight.
Adams wins debut as head coach at Northwest
Freshman guard Rico Key ensured that Head Coach Jimmy Adams' debut at Northwest Mississippi Community College was a successful one.
Key, of Batesville, came off the bench to score a game-high 20 points to lead the Northwest Rangers to a 82-60 season-opening victory against Volunteer State Nov. 3 in Gallatin, Tenn.
Adams, who took the reins of the Ranger basketball program last spring, was one of the most successful high school coaches ever in the city of Memphis. He hopes to turn around a Northwest team that owns a combined record of 35-43 the last three seasons.
The Rangers jumped to a 49-33 lead at intermission against Volunteer State behind Key's 13 first-half points. Key converted eight of 13 shots from the field in the contest, including four of eight from three-point range. He also added eight rebounds.
Sophomore Justin Gillard of Oxford chipped in with 15 points for Northwest, while freshman Reggie Brown of Olive Branch grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
As a team, the Rangers shot 42.5 percent from the floor by making 31 of 73
attempts.