NORTHWEST MEN FALL SHORT OF 2-0 FINISH TO END SEMESTER

BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune

The Northwest College men's basketball team finished 1-1 in its final two games before the winter break, defeating Arizona Western College 79-70 on Dec. 17 and falling to Central Arizona College 70-66 on Dec. 18 to wrap up the Chapman Winter Classic at Arizona Western College in Yuma.  

Northwest 79,
Arizona Western 70
The Trappers (11-6) never trailed and led for nearly the entire game, although Arizona Western (10-5) kept it close throughout. 
Trey Rinn hit a 3-pointer less than two minutes in to put Northwest ahead for good at 5-2. 
Braydon Bradshaw briefly put the Trappers ahead double digits at 15-4 on a jumpshot, and the teams exchanged baskets the rest of the half. 
Rinn hit a trey with 6:11 left in the half to put Northwest ahead 29-15 and the visitors led 37-28 at the half. 
Arizona Western made it as close as three points at 43-40, but the Trappers held on. After the hosts got within two midway through the half at 56-54, Nayel Girard hit a jumper to provide a bit more breathing room. Eli Patterson extended the lead to 10 at 73-63 with 3:26 remaining and Northwest saw out the 79-70 victory. 
"We shot the ball well, that's probably our best outing in a while, 52% from the field and 53% from three," coach Andy Ward said. "So you know, we played well offensively. And I thought, other than rebounding, we did a good job defensively."
Mateo Trujillo scored a team-high 18, Rinn added 14 and Patterson 12 to pace the Trappers.  

Central Arizona  70, Northwest 66
Against Central Arizona (6-8), the Trappers took the early lead, going ahead 13-3 on a R'zha Zha'Quire Whittle jumpshot with 13:32 left in the half. 
Whittle made another jumpshot midway through the half to keep the lead at 17-10. 
Central Arizona then clawed its way back to a tie, at which point, with 7:30 left in the half, Travis Theran Archibald sank a 3-pointer to put the Trappers back ahead. 
Northwest couldn't hold the lead but kept battling and went into the half down 31-28. 
The teams exchanged baskets early in the second half and the Trappers tied it multiple times, as when Whittle sank a jumper to make it 38-all with just under 15 minutes remaining, but could not regain the lead. 
As the second half progressed Central Arizona slowly expanded its advantage until, with 4:19 left, Northwest was behind 65-52. 
Then the Trappers rallied, beginning with a Girard jumpshot. That began a 10-1 run, capped by a Trujillo trey, to get within two scores at 66-62. 
The Trappers couldn't complete the rally, however, and Central Arizona sealed the win with free throws. 
"We shot 11% better than they did from the field and lost," Ward said. "Free throws were an issue for us. We were only 50% from the line. We turned the ball over more than we've been … 15 turnovers in that game, which is a lot for us this year. I mean, we've been taking good care of the ball. So that was problematic. Free throw shooting was problematic, and then our inability to keep them off the offensive glass." 

Up next
Northwest College stays at home after a road game Jan. 10 at Dawson Community College (10-6), to replace an all star game originally scheduled, before diving into the conference schedule beginning Jan. 15 against Laramie County Community College (6-7).  

NORTHWEST 79,
ARIZONA WESTERN 70
Points — Mateo Trujillo 18, Trey Rinn 14, Eli Patterson 12, Nayel girard 9, Logan Woolstenhulme 9, Braydon Bradshaw 8, R'Zha Zha'Quire Whittle 6, Travis Theran Archibald 3
Rebounds — Braydon Bradshaw 7 (2), Mateo Trujillo 6, Nayel Girard 5, Eli Patterson 3 (1), Logan Woolstenhulme 3 (2), Trey Rinn 1, Travis Theran Archibald 1, R'Zha Zha'Quire Whittle 1
Assists —Nayel Girard 4, Logan Woolstenhulme 3, Mateo Trujillo 2, Eli Patterson 2, Trey Rinn 1, Braydon Bradshaw 1
Steals — Mateo Trujillo 3, Eli Patterson 2, Trey Rinn 1, Braydon Bradshaw 1, Travis Theran Archibald 1
Blocks — Nayel Girard 1, Braydon Bradshaw 1

CENTRAL ARIZONA 70,
NORTHWEST 66
Points — Nayel Girard 16, R'Zha Zha'Quire Whittle 15, Mateo Trujillo 12, Braydon Bradshaw 8, Logan Woolstenhulme 7, Eli Patterson 4, Travis Theran Archibald 3, Trey Rinn 1
Rebounds — Nayel Girard 9 (1), R'Zha Zha'Quire Whittle 8 (3), Mateo Trujillo 7 (1), Trey Rinn 4 (2), Eli Patterson 3 (1), Logan Woolstenhulme 2 (1), Braydon Bradshaw 1
Assists —Mateo Trujillo 7, Nayel Girard 3, Trey Rinn 2, Eli Patterson 1
Steals — Mateo Trujillo 3, Eli Patterson 3, Nayel Girard 1
Blocks — Mateo Trujillo 1, Nayel Girard 1, Braydon Bradshaw 1