Your future, our focus
So Far, So Good
Best record in the Region IX North? Check.
Clinched home court for the regional tourney? Check.
Ready to win one of two region berths in the national tournament? The Northwest College Trappers say they plan to check that, too.
NWC ran past an undersized, under-manned and overmatched Little Big Horn College 104-74 on Saturday afternoon to earn the right to host the Region IX Tournament, which will be held today (Thursday) through Saturday at Cabre Gym.
“It’s exciting. We’re being told it’s the first time ever,” head coach Brian Erickson said. “It’s a pretty special moment. Guys have worked pretty hard to get to this point. They deserve it.”
But Erickson said he wanted his players to understand they had to remain focused and keep winning. They have reached the first two of their goals, but the Trappers have their eyes on a bigger game.
“Still a lot of work to do,” he said.
On Saturday, NWC scored easily but could not shake a determined LBHC squad in the first half. While Chris Boucher had 15 first-half points, including several rim-rattling dunks, the Rams scored on backdoor cuts and hit 3-pointers to stay close.
Boucher made a steal on an inbounds play and went in for a dunk. He then waved his arms, trying to get a late-arriving crowd to make some noise. The game changed course, however, on a collision between Trapper guard Colin May and Rams forward Marty Wallace, who was leading his team at that point with eight points.
Wallace was whistled for a foul but he remained on the floor for several minutes after what was later reported to be a serious knee injury. The sophomore did not return to the game.
In addition, LBHC’s Jason Calf Robe, a freshman forward, nursed a tender right elbow for much of the contest, cradling the arm when he was on the court and shooting free throws with his left hand.
The Rams only suited up seven players, and for long stretches, only had five available. With two of them playing with four fouls, the Trappers were under orders to get aggressive, Erickson said.
“We took them a little light at first,” NWC guard Nicky Desilien admitted after the game.
Both teams were shooting well, and around 400 fans were treated to some racehorse basketball with good outside shooting as well. The Trappers held a 40-36 lead late in the first half when they made a run, and built a double-digit lead.
They went into the half ahead 54-39.
Boucher opened the second half by soaring for a pass and slamming the ball through the rim. The crowd responded this time and the rout was on.
The sophomore forward followed up with a 3-pointer and another dunk. May added another triple and the Trappers had a 20-point lead.
Boucher dunked again with 13:20 to play and left the game with 27 points on 12-of-14 shooting in 20 minutes of action. He added 12 rebounds and three blocks before becoming one very tall cheerleader.
Desilien, who had 14 points, nine assists and three steals, soon joined him on the bench. He shouted out to the reserves, telling them to shoot and reminding them that it was “Kobe time” in the closing minutes.
Cody Meeks paced the Rams with 15 points. Zak Ait Ahmoudali added 14, Calf Robe had 13 despite playing with pain, and Dallas Lussier and Dominique LaForge both had 12. Ait Ahmoudali had 10 rebounds and Meeks and Calf Robe both grabbed five boards.
EJ Hubbard added 13 points for the Trappers and Tyler Chandler had 11. Erickson cleared the bench, as 13 players saw at least 5 minutes of time on the court.
Dan Milota and Eric Robinson both grabbed five boards for the Trappers, as 12 players scored and the only one who didn’t, Levi Petersen, had an assist.
NWC hit 37 of 83 shots, good for 45 percent, and was 12 of 26 from 3-point range and 18 of 22 from the free throw line for 82 percent.
The Rams made 27 of 65 shots, including 10 of 34 from long range, giving them a 42 percent success rate. They made 10 of 15 free throws. LBHC had 18 turnovers compared to 14 for NWC.
Erickson said it was good to get his starters out of the game and avoid a possible injury.
“This is always a scary game,” the coach said.
The Rams played tough, he added, and he said their outside shooting made a game of it in the first half. But he reminded his players of what awaited them in a few days — and told them to turn up the pressure to start the second half.
Boucher said that was a powerful incentive.
“We want to stay as fresh as possible,” he said. “I wanted to help my team in any way I could.”
“We did a better job in the second half,” Desilien added.
Now, he said, it was time to prepare for the tourney and round-one foe Western Nebraska. The Trappers battled the flu bug last week and skipped practices on Monday and Wednesday. They did a brief walk-though on Friday but Erickson and Desilien said they were feeling fine on Saturday afternoon.
“Health-wise, we’re good,” Desilien said. “We’ve had a couple days off. Now we can go hard and get ready for Thursday.”