TRAPPER MEN SNAP LOSING SKID

BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune

An important win snapped a three game losing skid for the Northwest College men's basketball team, as the Trappers rallied with a big second half to defeat Gillette College 81-66 at home Saturday.

NORTHWEST 81, GILLETTE COLLEGE 66
After escaping Gillette last month with a two point victory the Trappers (16-11 overall, 5-4 Region IX North) were hoping for a better showing against the Pronghorns (11-13 overall, 4-5 Region IX North).
Despite returning home for the first time after three games on the road, the Trappers got off to a slow start, as the Pronghorns jumped out to a 10-3 lead early.
Gillette grew the lead to as many as eight, before the Trappers cut into the advantage and made it only a 20-19 contest after a Travis Theran Archibald 3-pointer with 11:21 remaining in the first half.
The visitors then pushed the lead back out again, leading 32-26 with 5:40 left in the half.
Northwest tied the score late at 35 and 37, but the Pronghorns held a 39-37 lead at the break.
Trey Rinn immediately gave Northwest its first lead just a minute into the second half with a 3-pointer, as the two teams battled back and forth early in the half.
After Gillette College held a 43-42 lead, the Trappers went on a 13-2 stretch sparked by a Nayel Girard jumper and capped by a Mateo Trujillo jumper to give Northwest a 55-45 lead with 12:22 left.
Pushing behind Girard's strong scoring outburst, the Trappers made it a 70-55 contest with 6:39 left on a Girard 3-pointer.
"Nayel played great," coach Andy Ward said. "He ended up being 3-4 from the arc. But aside from scoring the ball which was great to see, he rebounded the ball well. He played well, created opportunities too for his teammates."
Northwest's strong second half finally pushed the lead over 20 points on an Archibald 3-pointer with 3:06 left, as the Trappers led 79-57.
Gillette made a strong push late but the Trappers earned an 81-66 win.
"I felt like we had better player movement, better ball movement. We weren't quite as stagnant and more aggressive," Ward said. "We shot the ball well from the arc. But we shot the ball a lot better (overall) than we have, so that was good to see."
Trujillo led Northwest with 17 points, Girard had 16, Archibald had 13 and R'Zha Zha'Quire Whittle added 12.
Logan Woolstenhulme led Northwest with nine rebounds, Tate Monroe had four assists, Trujillo had four steals while Eli Patterson had two blocks.       

IMPORTANT FINAL WEEK
Heading into the final week of the regular season the Trappers are in the mix among a number of teams vying for the No. 1 seed or a home play-in game.
Northwest currently sits in third place, a half game ahead of Western Wyoming, a half game behind Laramie County Community College and a full game behind Casper College.
The Trappers' final week started on Wednesday night, when they hosted Central Wyoming College (9-15 overall, 3-6 Region IX North) — that result was determined after the press deadline. 
"Central beat us at their place in a tight game," Ward said. "It'll be a tough contest. They're physical, they're disciplined."
The Trappers then head to Casper on Saturday at 4 p.m. to take on the Thunderbirds (11-15 overall, 6-3 Region IX North) before finishing the regular season at Western Wyoming (11-14 overall, 4-4 Region IX North) at 7:30 p.m. next Wednesday.
Northwest currently only holds one sweep in head-to-head against Gillette College. The Trappers could still sweep the Thunderbirds for tiebreakers, but have already lost to Central Wyoming and Western Wyoming.
"We need to finish off at home with another win. We've got the two road games to complete our regular season so it'd be nice to get this one (at home) and head on the road with a little momentum," Ward said.        

NORTHWEST 81, GILLETTE COLLEGE 66
Total rebounds then offensive rebounds in ()
Points — Mateo Trujillo 17, Nayel Girard 16, Travis Theran Archibald 13, R'Zha Zha'Quire Whittle 12, Trey Rinn 9, Logan Woolstenhulme 9, Braydon Bradshaw 4, Eli Patterson 1
Rebounds — Logan Woolstenhulme 9 (5), Eli Patterson 7 (3), Nayel Girard 7 (1), Braydon Bradshaw 5 (2), Trey Rinn 3, R'Zha Zha'Quire Whittle 3, Travis Theran Archibald 2, Tate Monroe 1, Mateo Trujillo 1
Assists — Tate Monroe 4, Mateo Trujillo 3, Nayel Girard 3, Eli Patterson 2, Logan Woolstenhulme 2, Trey Rinn 1, Braydon Bradshaw 1, Travis Theran Archibald 1
Steals — Mateo Trujillo 4, Eli Patterson 3
Blocks — Eli Patterson 2, Logan Woolstenhulme 1      

REGION IX NORTH STANDINGS
(as of Wednesday morning, Feb. 18)
1. Casper College 11-15 overall, 6-3 Region IX North
2. Laramie County CC 12-11 overall, 5-3 Region IX North
3. Northwest 16-11 overall, 5-4 Region IX North
4. Western Wyoming CC 11-14 overall, 4-4 Region IX North
5. Gillette College 11-13 overall, 4-5 Region IX North
6. Eastern Wyoming 6-20 overall, 3-5 Region IX North
7. Central Wyoming 9-15 overall, 3-6 Region IX North