Nelson’s clutch three lifts Northwest past Coastal Alabama-South

BAY MINETTE, Ala. — Josiah Nelson hit a go-ahead three-pointer in the final seconds to help Northwest Mississippi Community College rally for a 113-110 victory over Coastal Alabama-South on Thursday night in the Coastal Alabama Classic.

The redshirt freshman from Olive Branch (Lewisburg) scored all 11 of his points in the second half, including three triples, as the Rangers (5-2) pulled off late-game heroics for the second straight contest.

Dakota Morris paced Northwest with 22 points, while Demetrius Duffy added 21 points and 12 rebounds for another double-double. Chancellor Terry chipped in 20 points, giving the Rangers three players with 20 or more in the high-scoring win.

“Our guys were unbelievable last night from top to bottom,” head coach John Redman said. “You have to give credit to Coastal South because they played a heck of a ball game. We were very fortunate to come out on top.”

Northwest trailed by as many as 12 in the first half before rallying behind Morris and Duffy to cut the deficit to 55-49 at halftime. The Rangers surged ahead in the second half with a 9-0 run, but Coastal answered to tie the game at 95 with under seven minutes left.

With 48 seconds remaining, Coastal led 109-106 before Terry’s layup and Nelson’s clutch three swung momentum back to Northwest. Coastal missed key free throws in the closing seconds, and the Rangers held on as the Wolves’ final shot rimmed out at the buzzer.

Northwest finished with nine three-pointers in the second half and tallied 24 assists, just one game after recording a season-high 26 in a win over ASU Mid-South. LaMarcus Crawford added 11 points, while Nelson contributed four steals as the Rangers forced 15 turnovers.