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Telfort Could Return Soon
The Northwest Trappers went 0-3 over the weekend, but the biggest loss may have come before time expired in their first contest of 2016.
Sophomore Dan Milota went down with a knee injury with less than two minutes to go in the Trappers’ 60-57 loss to host Treasure Valley Community College at the Treasure Valley Tournament in Ontario, Oregon.
Northwest head coach Brian Erickson said Milota’s MCL injury “could be season-ending, could be a couple weeks.”
Milota sustained the injury when a Treasure Valley player took a charge from Trapper freshman Joel Tshimanga and fell backwards onto the side of Milota’s leg.
“We think he sprained it but it could be possible surgery,” Erickson said, adding that Milota was scheduled for an MRI on Tuesday afternoon.
The Trappers offense dipped without Milota, and fell 77-59 to College of Southern Idaho on Friday and 87-82 to an Oregon All Star team that filled in for Taylormade, an academy that withdrew from the tournament, on Saturday.
“He’s kind of our heart and soul, and it was with a minute and half, two minutes left in the game. I think it affected us a little bit mentally, in that game,” Erickson said. “The next night we didn’t score the ball very well, the next night same thing.”
Erickson said the loss of Milota was mentally taxing on the Trappers, and the energy and effort was lacking the first week back from winter break.
“One, we got outworked. Couldn’t be more disappointed in that side,” Erickson said. “The one thing we could control, we weren’t very good. So that’s probably the most disappointing thing about the weekend.”
The Trappers hadn’t played since a 105-66 win against Game Gear, an All-Star team, on Dec. 4.
“Having a long break affects you, for your lungs and how sharp you are, for sure,” Erickson said.
While Milota’s shoes were hard to fill, his absence challenged other players to perform at a higher level.
“With Dan’s injury we had some other guys come in and play bigger minutes,” Erickson said. “Damon (Leach) got some more minutes and played well. Levi (Londole), as well. We need other guys to be able to step up.”
Clint Bateman scored seven points and had two rebounds in the five-point loss on Saturday, but Erickson commended the redshirt freshman’s hustle.
“I played him about 39 minutes that last game. He was diving into the stands. I think every game he ended up in the bleachers,” Erickson said. “He left everything out there and really stood out.”
Northwest was led by freshman Grantham Gillard’s 15 points against Treasure Valley, freshman Sukhjot Bains’ 14 against CSI and sophomore Garrison Gillard’s 18 versus the All-Stars.
Garrison Gillard added 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists, and Bateman had 10 points and three steals against CSI.
Bains notched a double-double with 17 points and 12 boards against the All-Stars, and was one of four players in double figures. Sophomore Jordan Rood scored 13 points and Grantham Gillard scored 11.
The Trappers were down 46-35 at halftime against the All-Stars, and trailed CSI by only two with about six minutes to play.
HELP COULD BE ON THE WAY
Freshman Jordy Telfort, who has been out with a knee injury since mid-November, is rehabbing and could rejoin the Trappers soon.
“He’s sprinting, he’s dunking, things like that, but he’s not fully cleared. He could still be out for the season,” Erickson said.
If Telfort returns, he would likely not jump immediately back into a full-time role. Erickson said he’s not concerned as much with Telfort’s conditioning as he is with the guard’s ability to lead the Trappers at the offensive end.
“It’s not so much about the wind, because he can play two minutes if he’s good,” Erickson said. “It’s if he can run our offense. He’ll be fine on defense, he gets after it. How quick can he pick (the offense) up? He won’t be here at least two weeks, he’s not seeing this (practice).”
The playbook has expanded dramatically since Telfort was last in action.
Erickson didn’t downplay the impact of the injuries to Milota and Telfort, but said it’s something every team has to deal with.
“Jordy is probably one of our best all-around players. He can guard, take you off the dribble, shoot it. Dan’s our best big man, can score it down there,” Erickson said. “But it happens every year, you just got to figure out how the heck do you do it with somebody else, or who’s going to step up?
“We’ll be all right in the end, it’s just how long is it going to take us to get there?”
The Trappers started their Region IX schedule Wednesday night against Casper. Results can be found on the Tribune’s Facebook page, facebook.com/ powelltribune.