NWC MEN FALL SHORT IN IDAHO

BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune

The Northwest College men's basketball team dropped a pair of contests while continuing its roadtrip in Idaho, losing a neutral site game to Green River Community College 86-79 on Friday before losing to host North Idaho College 64-60 on Saturday in Coeur d'Alene.      

GREEN RIVER CC 86, NORTHWEST 79
Continuing on the road the Trappers (3-3) took on the Gators (1-1) to start a pair of difficult games in Idaho.
The Trappers came out strong, and held a 9-6 lead after a Mateo Trujillo jump shot with 15:20 remaining in the half.
Northwest held off the Gators, and maintained the lead, pushing it to as many as five up 22-17 after a Logan Woolstenhulme jump shot with 9:40 left.
With the Trappers up 25-20, Green River went on a four minute, 15-0 run to go up 35-25 with 4:46 remaining.
That lead extended to as many as 15 at 42-27, with Northwest cutting it down to single digits once before ultimately trailing 47-37 at the break.
In the second half the Trappers cut the lead down to single digits immediately, but the Gators didn't allow the Trappers to get closer than a couple possessions early on.
Northwest eventually cut the lead down to five just before the midway point of the half, making it a 59-54 deficit after a Tate Monroe 3-pointer with 11:18 remaining.
The lead was down to four at 61-57 just under two minutes later on a Trujillo jumper, but each time the Trappers scored, the Gators had a response.
One strong push built the lead back to double digits, and the Trappers were unable to get much closer, only getting the deficit back to six with just under a minute remaining before ultimately falling 86-79.
"I didn't think we attacked their zone great, but we shot the ball decent," coach Andy Ward said. "They outrebounded us, that shouldn't happen. But it was good for us, we saw a lot of changing defenses out of a zone. They play different types of zones, so I thought it was good for us to see and work on our zone attack. Naturally, it's got to get better."
The free throw line proved to be the difference, as the Trappers shot 4-10 (40%) compared to 25-31 (80.6%) for the Gators.
Trujillo led with 14 points, Nayel Girard had 12, Travis Theran Archibald had 11 and Woolstenhulme added 10.
Archibald grabbed seven rebounds, Woolstenhulme led with three assists, Trujillo and Girard both notched three steals and Woolstenhulme had the lone block.    

NORTH IDAHO 64, NORTHWEST 60
In the second game of the weekend the Trappers took on the host Cardinals (4-1) with the hopes of a weekend split.
Northwest came out strong in what proved to be a low scoring first half, leading 7-0 after a Girard jumper with 16:23 remaining.
The Trappers didn't score over the next four minutes, allowing the Cardinals to tie the game.
The game reached a 13-11 scoreline in favor of the Cardinals with 10:32 left, and that scoreline held over the next four minutes.
That low scoring led to a 19-16 scoreline at the break, as the two teams combined to shoot 13-63 (20.6%) from the field and 4-30 (13.3%) from 3-point range in the first half.
"It was obviously a defensive battle that first half … They're a little tougher to score on at the rim because of their size. But we settled for just a lot of perimeter shots," Ward said.
Scoring picked up quickly in the second half, as the Cardinals led by nine early, but the Trappers fought back and remained close trailing 31-28 six minutes in.
A strong push over the next five minutes helped North Idaho gain control, making it a double-digit affair at 43-31 with 8:25 remaining.
After trailing 47-36 the Trappers went on a 9-0 run, capped off by a Monroe 3-pointer to make it 47-45 with 5:30 remaining.
Northwest tied the game at 50 on an Eli Patterson jumper before eventually taking the lead 55-54 on a Trujillo 3-pointer with 2:33 remaining.
The two teams exchanged the lead until North Idaho made it a four point game with 30 seconds remaining at 61-57.
Northwest was unable to get closer than three and eventually fell 64-60 with a free throw just before the final horn.
Free throws again proved to be the difference, as Northwest went 7-8 (87.5%) compared to 20-28 (71.4%) for the Cardinals.
"We're not getting to the free throw line, and we're putting them there too much," Ward said. "We've got to be more attacking and do a better job … That has nothing to do with finishing (ability). That has to do with us being more aggressive and not settling for everything out on the perimeter, and then just doing what we're supposed to do defensively."
Trujillo led once again with 17 and Girard had 12 points and five rebounds.
R'Zha Zha'Quire Whittle led with four assists and had the lone block while four Trappers recorded a steal each.   

COACH COLLINS CLASSIC
Northwest returns home for the second time this season this week, hosting the Coach Collins Heart of a Champion Classic on Friday and Saturday.
"Coach [Jay] Collins and I go way back. A dear friend of mine, I'd like to get a couple wins in his memory, to see our guys come out with great intensity, play the game like it should be played, like he'd want it to be played," Ward said.
The Trappers host United Tribes Technical College (4-5) at 7:30 p.m on Friday before taking on Williston State College (6-1) at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
Ward said the Trappers have put an emphasis on getting to the line this week, getting touches in the paint while also locking down better defensively on the drive.
"It's already been a point of emphasis since we reviewed the film … We've got to get paint touches. We've got to get paint drives. I think we have some guys that can shoot the ball from three, but we're just relying
on that and settling for that too much," Ward said. "On the defensive end, we've got to do a better job of dribble penetration hurting us. Other teams have been attacking us and they're getting to the foul line, so
we've got to do a better job of guarding the dribble, being in the right floor position and rebounding."
Northwest ends its busy week with a home game against the Rocky Mountain College JV at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.   

GREEN RIVER CC 86, NORTHWEST 79
Total rebounds then offensive rebounds in ()
Points — Mateo Trujillo 14, Nayel Girard 12, Travis Theran Archibald 11, Logan Woolstenhulme 10, Trey Rinn 9, Eli Patterson 9, Braydon Bradshaw 6, R'Zha Zha'Quire Whittle 5, Tate Monroe 3
Rebounds — Travis Theran Archibald 7 (5), Braydon Bradshaw 6 (2), Mateo Trujillo 4 (1), Logan Woolstenhulme 4 (1), R'Zha Zha'Quire Whittle 4 (1), Nayel Girard 1, Trey Rinn 1, Gunnar Erickson 1
Assists — Logan Woostenhulme 3, Mateo Trujillo 2, Nayel Girard 2, Braydon Bradshaw 2, Eli Patterson 1, Gunnar Erickson 1, Travis Theran Archibald 1, R'Zha Zha'Quire Whittle 1
Steals — Mateo Trujillo 3, Nayel Girard 3, Trey Rinn 2, Eli Patterson 2, Travis Theran Archibald 1, R'Zha Zha'Quire Whittle 1Blocks — Logan Woolstenhulme 1    

NORTH IDAHO 64, NORTHWEST 60
Points — Mateo Trujillo 17, Nayel Girard 12, Tate Monroe 9, Trey Rinn 8, Eli Patterson 8, Travis Theran Archibald 3, Logan Woolstenhulme 2, R'Zha Zha'Quire Whittle 1
Rebounds — Nayel Girard 5 (2), Eli Patterson 3 (2), Logan Woolstenhulme 3 (2), Travis Theran Archibald 3 (1), R'Zha Zha'Quire Whittle 3 (3), Mateo Trujillo 2, Braydon Bradshaw 2, Tate Monroe 2, Trey Rinn 1, Monybuony Kor 1
Assists — R'Zha Zha'Quire Whittle 4, Nayel Girard 3, Mateo Trujillo 2, Trey Rinn 1, Braydon Bradshaw 1, Travis Theran Archibald 1
Steals — Mateo Trujillo 1, Eli Patterson 1, Braydon Bradshaw 1, Travis Theran Archibald 1
Blocks — R'Zha Zha'Quire Whittle 1