NWC MEN RUN AWAY WITH HOME CONTESTS
BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune
Ending the first semester with a pair of games at home against former players, the Northwest College men's basketball team ran away from the All-Stars out of Utah 96-56 on Friday and the Northwest College Alumni team 113-78 on Saturday.
NORTHWEST 96, ALL-STARS 56
Starting out the weekend against the All-Stars, a team from Utah, the Trappers (11-5) looked for a quick start to put away the team of former players early.
At the beginning of the game the Trappers appeared to be pulling away from the visitors, but the All-Stars answered and hung around over the first five minutes with the score at 13-8 in favor of
Northwest.
The visitors tied the game at 16 with 12 minutes left before the Trappers pulled away behind Trey Rinn's strong shooting.
Rinn scored 11 straight points for the Trappers, restoring the lead up 27-18 as he put up a season high 22 points in the contest — coach Andy Ward is hopeful the Trappers can continue unlocking his shooting potential moving forward.
"Trey played well this weekend, shot the ball well," Ward said. "That's certainly a strength of his. He's really solid defensively, but when he's knocking down threes, it makes a big difference for us."
Northwest continued the run and made it a 34-18 contest with seven minutes left in the half.
The lead reached its largest point of the first half after a Tate Monroe jumper late in the second quarter, as the Trappers led 50-30 at the break.
In the second half the Trappers pushed the lead out to 30 points, using a 12-2 run capped off by a Kaden Christensen jumper with just under 17 minutes left.
The lead eventually reached 40 after a Carter Clark 3-pointer with 8:45 remaining, as the Trappers cruised throughout the second half.
Northwest's largest lead in the game was 42, as the Trappers finished the 96-56 victory.
Rinn led all scorers with 22, Drew Larson added 17, Tessi Thong had 12, Preston Condie had 11 and Colin Hayes had 10.
"I thought our entire team shot the ball pretty well over the weekend, that was encouraging," Ward said.
Larson led with six rebounds and tied for the team lead with three assists alongside Thong.
Christensen, Thong and Larson each led with two steals.
NORTHWEST 113, NORTHWEST ALUMNI 78
Heading into Saturday the current Trappers welcomed in a group of former Trappers, as Northwest again looked for a quick start.
"That was one of the things I talked to them about, is we wanted to play a little more up tempo, get them out of their comfort zone. Because these guys still know how to play, and they're effective, they can play in the half-court," Ward said.
Northwest held the lead early in the game, but the Alumni kept it close only trailing 12-9 four minutes into the game.
The Trappers eventually pushed the lead out to double-digits on a Ruben Bos jump shot with 11:05 remaining as Northwest led 28-18.
Northwest continued maintaining its lead and made it 41-26 after a Bos 3-pointer with 6:21 left in the first half.
Another Monroe shot late in the first half helped Northwest to a 55-38 lead at the break.
The lead reached 20 just over two minutes into the second half after a Christensen free throw, up 61-41.
Northwest kept that lead and eventually pushed it out to 30 after a Larson 3-pointer with 3:35 left.
The lead reached as many as 36, with Northwest claiming a 113-78 win over the Alumni.
Hayes led with 19 points, Christensen had 17, Bos had 15, Monroe had 14 and Larson had 13.
Condie led with seven rebounds, Hayes led with six assists and Thong led with four steals.
Guilherme Carabagial led the Alumni with 32 points, Jordan Rood had 17 and Ricardo Bodra had 10.
Bodra added 12 rebounds for his double double, along with six assists.
"It's fantastic to see some of those guys that you know, we had a range of alumni," Ward said. "I think those guys enjoy coming back … For them to travel long distances to be here at Northwest College, their experience here was certainly a positive one. They love being back in the community and seeing old friends and old coaches. I think that's something we certainly want to continue and hopefully grow."
WINTER BREAK
Heading into the winter break with an 11-5 record, Ward said the Trappers are going to focus on breaking down film from the first half of the season while emphasizing rebounding heading into the second semester.
"Break down a lot of film and look at things that we need to improve on," Ward said. "I can tell you right off the bat that we've got to rebound the ball better. We need to solidify that, so that will be an area of emphasis when we get back."
He said they will analyze other things they need to get better at, while also looking to improve things the Trappers are good at.
Northwest next plays Jan. 9 at Miles Community College.
NORTHWEST 96, ALL-STARS 56
Total rebounds then offensive rebounds in ()
Points — Trey Rinn 22, Drew Larson 17, Tessi Thong 12, Preston Condie 11, Colin Hayes 10, Kaden Christensen 9, Tate Monroe 9, Carter Clark 3, Eli Patterson 2, Ruben Bos 1
Rebounds — Drew Larson 6 (1), Kaden Christensen 5 (1), Tessi Thong 5 (1), Carter Clark 5 (2), Preston Condie 3, Colin Hayes 2, Eli Patterson 2, Ruben Bos 2 (1), Ants-Kristjan Kalmus 2, Tate Monroe 1, Trey Rinn 1
Assists — Tessi Thong 3, Drew Larson 3, Preston Condie 2, Carter Clark 2, Kaden Christensen 1, Tate Monroe 1, Eli Patterson 1, Ruben Bos 1
Steals — Kaden Christensen 2, Tessi Thong 2, Drew Larson 2, Tate Monroe 1, Ruben Bos 1
Blocks — Tessi Thong 1
NORTHWEST 113, NORTHWEST ALUMNI 78
Points — Colin Hayes 19, Kaden Christensen 17, Ruben Bos 15, Tate Monroe 14, Drew Larson 13, Tessi Thong 9, Preston Condie 9, Trey Rinn 9, Ants-Kristjan Kalmus 6, Eli Patterson 2
Rebounds — Preston Condie 7, Kaden Christensen 6 (3), Drew Larson 5 (1), Carter Clark 3, Eli Patterson 3, Colin Hayes 2 (1), Trey Rinn 2, Ruben Bos 2 (2), Tessi Thong 1, Tate Monroe 1 (1), Ants-Kristjan Kalmus 1
Assists — Colin Hayes 6, Tessi Thong 5, Tate Monroe 5, Kaden Christensen 4, Carter Clark 3, Drew Larson 1, Eli Patterson 1, Ruben Bos 1
Steals — Tessi Thong 4, Colin Hayes 3, Tate Monroe 2, Carter Clark 2, Kaden Christensen 1, Preston Condie 1, Drew Larson 1, Ruben Bos 1
Blocks — Eli Patterson 1