Your future, our focus
Team Breaks For Holidays at 14-2
The Northwest College Trapper men’s basketball team handed No. 18 Sheridan College its first loss of the basketball season, grabbing a 79-69 victory on Saturday afternoon. The win sends Northwest into the holiday break at 14-2 overall and 2-0 in Region IX North play. “Obviously, this was a huge basketball game for us on a couple of fronts,” said Trapper head coach Andy Ward.
“It was a home league game that has bearing on our regional seeding, so we wanted to make sure we didn’t slip up at home. On top of that, Sheridan is a big rival and coming in here undefeated and ranked.”
It was also the last game the Trappers would play before the calendar rolled over to 2012.
“You definitely don’t want to go that long hanging on a loss,” Ward admitted.
Northwest jumped in front early and opened an 11-point lead. Freshman Konner Frey scored many of his 13 points in that first half as he took advantage of Sheridan’s defensive scheme.
“They came out and were just draped all over Chris (Hansen),” said Ward. “It’s something we’re going to see all year. It really opened some things up for Konner and he took advantage.”
While that may have helped Northwest gain the upper hand and a 38-27 halftime lead, the Generals made their move early in the second half. Fueled by some 3-point buckets, the Generals wasted little time pulling back into contention.
“They made a great run out of the locker room,” Ward said. “That 11-point lead, man, they had it gone in like four minutes. We showed good poise though and didn’t panic, even when they got the lead.”
Sheridan’s lead, 51-50, was a brief-lived one, but the Trappers weren’t able to open much daylight on the scoreboard after regaining the advantage. The big sequence came with less than four minutes to go.
“There was a scramble for a loose ball, guys on the floor, and we came up with it,” Ward said. “In the melee, they lost sight of Chris and we found him and he knocked down a huge three from in front of our bench to put us up by seven.”
From there, the Trappers used accuracy from the free throw line to seal the victory.
Hansen, despite Sheridan’s efforts, finished with 18 to lead all scorers. Diego Pasos added a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Junior Coleman also delivered 14 points for the Trappers.
“Diego’s performance was exceptional,” said Ward. “We need him to do that. If you look at the two games we lost, he was really limited in his touches. In the big wins we’ve had, his performance has been up there, and I think there’s a correlation there.”
The other statistic of note from Saturday’s contest was the Trappers’ outstanding job of protecting the basketball. Northwest turned the ball over just 11 times, compared to 25 giveaways by Sheridan.
“That’s really important, especially against a team like Sheridan that really comes out and gets after you on defense,” Ward said.
The victory over Sheridan was just one of two hard-fought Region IX wins by Northwest last week. The Trappers also edged Central Wyoming by a 72- 66 final count.
“Central is a very tough team,” said Ward. “To go into their gym at the end of a seven-game= road trip and come away with a victory was huge. That’s not a W that I think you’ll see a lot of teams in our Region getting, because they are a very solid basketball team.”
Northwest proved up to the challenge as the team once again placed four players in double figures. Hansen led the way with 13, but close behind were Coleman and Pasos with 12 each. Pietro de Andrade stepped off the bench for 11 points in just seven minutes of floor time.
Coleman’s night was particularly impressive as the Arizona freshman delivered a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists.
“He did a great job of not only scoring when we needed him to, but of seeing the floor and getting everyone involved,” Ward said. “On top of it all, he had 10 assists with only one turnover for the night. That’s really good.”
The Trapper men are off until Jan. 7. The team will return to action with a Region IX contest at Little Big Horn College.
NORTHWEST 79, SHERIDAN 69
Jeffrey Solarin 8, Junior Coleman 14, Konner Frey 13, Chris Hansen 18, Diego Pasos 14, Guilherme Carabagiale 5, Zach Stanley 5, Pietro de Andrade 2.
NORTHWEST 72, C. WYOMING 66
Jeffrey Solarin 6, Junior Coleman 12, Konner Frey 5, Chris Hansen 13, Diego Pasos 12, Ty Ackelson 7, Guilherme Carabagiale 3, Zach Stanley 3, Pietro de Andrade 11.