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Trappers Improve to 11-0 as Hansen Hits for 38 Points
The No. 19 Northwest College men’s basketball team answered the bell in its toughest game to date, defeating Snow College by an 88-82 final count on Tuesday. The win improved the Trappers to an 11-0 start to the basketball season.
“It was a lot more of a defensive battle than I expected,” said Trapper head coach Andy Ward. “Neither team shot the ball particularly well. We hit 40 percent from the floor and we held Snow to 39 percent.”
Northwest was particularly strong on defense over the first 20 minutes, holding the host Badgers, who entered the game 8-1 and on the cusp of a national ranking, to just 31 points. The Trappers led 42-31 at halftime.
Snow mounted a challenge in the second half, carving the Trappers’ lead down to as few as four points, but never got closer. With three minutes to play, Northwest had re-established its double-digit margin and held on over the final minutes with solid free throw shooting.
“I wish we would have finished things out a little stronger, but I made a couple decisions from the bench that probably allowed them to make a bit more of a run than they needed,” Ward said. “I was trying to change up our defense so they’d have to take some time with the basketball and it didn’t work like we wanted. I definitely won’t be doing that again.”
Any late-game angst Ward may have experienced on the sideline was soothed by the Trappers’ 80 percent performance from the charity stripe. Northwest was sent to the foul line a whopping 40 times in the game, converting 32.
Included in that stat was another deadly performance by freshman Chris Hansen. The Colorado native was a perfect 16-for-16 from the line as part of a 38-point outing. Hansen was also 4-for-8 from 3-point range.
“He just went off,” said Ward. “They didn’t really have an answer for him. We saw a lot of things, including a box and one, and we were able to make the adjustments.”
Part of Hansen’s freedom to shoot the ball owed itself to the fact that three other Trappers also demanded attention from the Badgers’ defense as they shot their way into double figures. Diego Pasos finished with a double-double, putting up 16 points and 10 rebounds. Jeffrey Solarin narrowly missed adding a second double-double to the Trappers’ ledger with an 11-point, nine-rebound night. Junior Coleman connected for 13 points for Northwest.
“Diego got some huge rebounds for us late in the game,” said Ward, whose team was out-rebounded for the first time this season. “I was a little disappointed with our rebounding when you look at the whole game, but late in the game, Diego and some of the other guys really came up with some big rebounds for us.”
The Trappers remained in Utah on Wednesday for a meeting with No. 9 Salt Lake Community College. Coverage of that clash of top-20 unbeaten programs will appear in Tuesday’s issue of the Powell Tribune.
The Trappers also travel to Scottsbluff, Neb., this weekend. The team faces Western Nebraska on Friday before wrapping up a busy road week with a game against Laramie County Community College.