Coming off of a tough loss Thursday against Holmes, the Bears were aiming to bounce back with a Saturday road contest against Northwest Mississippi in a makeup game from two weeks prior. And even though they held the lead for the majority of the contest, the Bears couldn't hang on in the end, falling 74-70 to the Rangers.
 
"Anytime you have 20 turnovers, you are not going to win a game," Southwest head coach Corey Schmidt said. "We gave them the basketball and got them out in transition and gave them wide open layups in transition. It is just a tough way to lose a game."
 
The Bears (10-9, 1-3 MACCC) jumped out to an early advantage as 3-pointers from Tylik Weeks and Mark Drone were bookends to a layup from Jahshawne Joseph. And despite the Rangers getting their offense going, the Bears never trailed through the first half, even ballooning their lead to as much as 10 halfway through the period.
 
With 2:23 to go in the half, Southwest lost a bit of momentum as Northwest pulled even at 32. But the Bears got a 3-pointer from Deon Brown to jump back ahead.
 
Southwest led 40-32 at the half.
 
In an act of déjà vu, the Bears once again maintained a single-digit lead for the majority of the second half. At the 14:08 mark the Rangers jumped back ahead but the Bears got a layup from LeVionne Lindsey to retake the lead.
 
Even though Southwest grabbed the upper hand once again, Northwest stayed within striking distance and rallied with under 2:00 to go. The Bears could not regroup as the Rangers held on for the win.
 
Weeks led the Bears with 20 points. Joseph posted a double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds. Drone and Lindsey each recorded 11 points.
 
The Bears have yet another quick turnaround as they will hit the road once again for their next game Monday at 7:30 against Jones.