TRAPPER MEN'S BASKETBALL GOES 2-1 ON THE ROAD

BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune

Heading on the road for the first time this season the Northwest College men's basketball team suffered its first loss Thursday to Dawson Community College 82-75, before rebounding for two wins, 81-70 over Miles Community College 81-70 and 81-65 over United Tribes.

DAWSON CC 82, NORTHWEST 75
The Trappers (3-1) opened the roadtrip against the Buccaneers (5-0) expecting a difficult battle against the hosts.
Northwest started out strong, breaking the press and holding a 12-7 lead after a Braydon Bradshaw free throw with 13:13 left in the half.
The Trappers continued to dictate the tempo, holding a 21-17 lead after a pair of Nayel Girard free throws with 6:57 left.
Northwest pushed the lead out to as many as nine at 32-23 after a Trey Rinn 3-pointer with 3:19 left, but a strong push by the Buccaneers cut the lead to 36-32 heading into the locker room.
Starting the second half strong the Trappers pushed their advantage out to double-digits, making it a 45-35 contest after an Eli Patterson jumper with 16:45 remaining in the game.
Northwest then held off a series of pushes from the hosts, until the Buccaneers finally tied the score at 55 with 11:54 left.
Dawson took the lead shortly after, and quickly built a lead of its own at eight points, leading 66-58 with 9:54 left in the game.
The Buccaneers' fast pace forced Northwest into more turnovers, but scoring slowed overall as the hosts maintained their lead up 72-63 with 4:33 left.
"I think we panicked a little bit in that stretch," coach Andy Ward said. "For a full game we took pretty good care of the basketball. We had 11 turnovers for the game. Only had two in the first half, so we had too many in the second half that turned into points."
Northwest cut the lead down to four several times over the final minutes, but were unable to get any closer in the 82-75 loss.
"What hurt us more than anything was really two areas defensively. They really drove the ball, and we didn't do a very good job of staying in front of guys and they got in the lane too much with dribble penetration," Ward said. "And then rebounding, they just punished us on the glass. A lot of that had to do with penetration, you have to help and now someone is unaccounted for on the glass. So that was probably more (hurtful)
than the turnovers."
Patterson led Northwest with 15 points, while Logan Woolstenhulme and Travis Theran Archibald had 11 each.
Nayel Girard had six rebounds, Mateo Trujillo and Girard tied for the team lead with five assists each, Patterson and Trujillo had three steals each and Girard led with two blocks.

NORTHWEST 81, MILES CC 70
Competing in Miles City on Friday and Saturday the Trappers started with a game against the host Pioneers (3-3).
Miles started strong, building an 11-7 lead over the first five minutes.
"I wasn't happy for the weekend in general, our defensive transition just wasn't where it needs to be," Ward said. "We've got to improve there. We gave up some easy baskets because of a lack of communication, a lack of fulfilling individual responsibilities. So we've got to get tighter, fewer mistakes with our defensive transition."
Northwest responded and took the lead at 18-16 on a Gunnar Erickson jumper with 10:39 remaining as the two teams went back-and-forth until Northwest created separation late in the half.
The Trappers led by seven up 29-22 on another Erickson jumper with 5:42 remaining, but the Pioneers responded and even reclaimed the lead with two minutes remaining, before Northwest ended on a 6-0 run to go
up 41-36 at the break.
In the second half the back-and-forth battle continued, as the Trappers couldn't create enough separation over the first eight minutes of the half.
Northwest finally extended its advantage to eight, leading 60-52 with 9:30 remaining.
The Trappers held off any pushes from the hosts, not allowing them closer than four points, and walked away with a 81-70 win after a late push.
"We found a way to win. We made stops when we needed to, and finished the game strong," Ward said.
Trujillo led Northwest with 15 points, just ahead of Girard with 13 and Patterson with 10.
Girard led with eight rebounds, as he and Trujillo tied for the team lead with four assists.
Girard and Patterson led with three steals each and Patterson, Bradshaw and R'Zha Zha'Quire Whittle each had a block.

NORTHWEST 81, UNITED TRIBES 65
Ending the weekend with a neutral site game in Miles City the Trappers took on the Thunderbirds (2-4).
Northwest came out of the gates blazing, starting on a 13-0 run and building as large as a 19-2 lead after a Whittle jumper with 14:36 remaining.
"I was really pleased with the way we started that game," Ward said. "We really set the tone for the rest of the game."
United Tribes cut the lead down to 19-10, but the Trappers maintained the lead at that level and led 29-16 with 6:12 left on an Archibald 3-pointer.
Northwest pushed its lead back out to as many as 17, but held a 40-29 lead heading into the locker room.
The Trappers started the second half strong, immediately going on a 13-2 run and making it a 53-32 contest after a Bradshaw jumper with 16:18 remaining.
Northwest used that early run to create a significant advantage in the contest, and cruised throughout the second half, without much push from the Thunderbirds, to an 81-65 victory.
"There were some good things … It was a good weekend. You want that Dawson game back, but you can't get it back. You've just got to learn from it, try to get better," Ward said.
Patterson and Whittle tied for the team lead with 12 points each, and Rinn added 10 as the third Trapper in double figures.
Patterson, Woolstenhulme and Tate Monroe had six rebounds each.
Monroe, Isaac Wolfe, Woolstenhulme and Archibald each had three assists, while Trujillo, Patterson and Woolstenhulme had three steals each.
Trujillo and Whittle each recorded a block.

IDAHO TRIP
The Trappers head back on the road, this time to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, to face a pair of challenging opponents.
Northwest starts with a neutral site game against Green River Community College (0-0) at 4 p.m. on Friday before taking on hosts North Idaho College (2-1) at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
"I want to see us improve in our defensive transition, [do] a better job of rebounding the ball," Ward said. "See us be a little more efficient offensively … Just want to see us take some steps forward in the areas that we're not doing so well in, and all the while still taking good care of the ball."     

DAWSON CC 82, NORTHWEST 75
Total rebounds then offensive rebounds in ()
Points — Eli Patterson 15, Logan Woolstenhulme 11, Travis Theran Archibald 11, Mateo Trujillo 9, Braydon Bradshaw 8, Nayel Girard 8, Trey Rinn 6, Gunnar Erickson 3, Monybuony Kor 2, R'Zha Zha'Quire Whittle 2
Rebounds — Nayel Girard 6 (1), Travis Theran Archibald 5 (1), Braydon Bradshaw 4, Mateo Trujillo 4, Eli Patterson 3 (1), Gunnar Erickson 2, Logan Woolstenhulme 2 (1), Trey Rinn 1 (1), Tate Monroe 1, Monybuony Kor 1, Isaac Wolfe 1 (1), R'Zha Zha'Quire Whittle 1
Assists — Mateo Trujillo 5, Nayel Girard 5, Trey Rinn 2, Braydon Bradshaw 1, Tate Monroe 1, R'Zha Zha'Quire Whittle 1
Steals — Eli Patterson 3, Mateo Trujillo 3, Braydon Bradshaw 1, Isaac Wolfe 1, Logan Woolstenhulme 1, Travis Theran Archibald 1
Blocks — Nayel Girard 2, Braydon Bradshaw 1, Logan Woolstenhulme 1   

NORTHWEST 81, MILES CC 70
Points — Mateo Trujillo 15, Nayel Girard 13, Eli Patterson 10, Trey Rinn 8, Braydon Bradshaw 7, Logan Woolstenhulme 7, Gunnar Erickson 6, Travis Theran Archibald 6, R'Zha Zha'Quire Whittle 6, Tate Monroe 3
Rebounds — Nayel Girard 8 (3), Eli Patterson 5 (2), Braydon Bradshaw 5 (2), R'Zha Zha'Quire Whittle 5 (3), Mateo Trujillo 4 (1), Trey Rinn 4 (1), Tate Monroe 3, Gunnar Erickson 3 (2), Logan Woolstenhulme 3, Travis Theran Archibald 2 (1)
Assists — Mateo Trujillo 4, Nayel Girard 4, Eli Patterson 2, Gunnar Erickson 2, Tate Monroe 1, R'Zha Zha'Quire Whittle 1
Steals — Nayel Girard 3, Eli Patterson 2, Mateo Trujillo 1, Trey Rinn 1, Braydon Bradshaw 1, Logan Woolstenhulme 1, Travis Theran Archibald 1
Blocks — Eli Patterson 1, Braydon Bradshaw 1, R'Zha Zha'Quire Whittle 1    

NORTHWEST 81, UNITED TRIBES 65
Points — Eli Patterson 12, R'Zha Zha'Quire Whittle 12, Trey Rinn 10, Nayel Girard 8, Logan Woolstenhulme 8, Travis Theran Archibald 7, Tate Monroe 6, Mateo Trujillo 4, Braydon Bradshaw 4, Isaac Wolfe 4, John Hendricks 1
Rebounds — Eli Patterson 6 (1), Tate Monroe 6 (3), Logan Woolstenhulme 6, R'Zha Zha'Quire Whittle 4 (3), Mateo Trujillo 3 (2), Nayel Girard 3 (2), Monybuony Kor 3 (1), Isaac Wolfe 2 (1), Travis Theran Archibald 2,
Trey Rinn 1 (1), Braydon Bradshaw 1 (1), Richy Rodriguez 1, Gunnar Erickson 1 (1)
Assists — Tate Monroe 3, Isaac Wolfe 3, Logan Woolstenhulme 3, Travis Theran Archibald 3, Mateo Trujillo 2, Nayel Girard 2, Braydon Bradshaw 2
Steals — Mateo Trujillo 3, Eli Patterson 3, Logan Woolstenhulme 3, Monybuony Kor 2, Nayel Girard 1, Trey Rinn 1, Isaac Wolfe 1, R'Zha Zha'Quire Whittle 1
Blocks — Mateo Trujillo 1, R'Zha Zha'Quire Whittle 1