Your future, our focus
It took three games and a last-second shot, but the Northwest College men’s basketball team got a conference win Tuesday night.
The Trappers beat Dawson Community College (Glendive, Mont.,) 65-63 on sophomore Franklin Uzonwanne’s layup with two seconds left in regulation.
With the game tied 63-63, the Trappers came out of a timeout and in-bounded the ball at half court to sophomore point guard Gary Gordon, who dribbled in the backcourt until just 6.5 seconds remained on the clock.
From 5 feet behind the top of the 3-point line, Gordon stepped left as if he was going to use Uzonwanne’s high screen, but quickly passed to his right to sophomore KJ Rech.
That was Uzonwanne’s cue.
He cut across the face of his defender through the open lane, caught Rech’s pass from the wing, took one dribble, pump-faked and then floated a one-handed shot from 3 feet away that bounced twice on the rim before falling through the net.
The Pioneers missed their three-quarter-court shot attempt, and the Trappers celebration began in front of their bench.
“Dawson is a very tough place to play,” said head coach Brian Erickson. “Getting the win there gets us back on the right track. Going into the break 0-3 would be pretty tough to come back from.”
Erickson said he believes his team showed they are capable of winning tough contests when they play together.
“I believe we have talent,” he said. “We have guys that are willing to put the work in. It’s just we’re not always on the same page.”
Northwest’s defense wasn't on the same page for its first two conference games.
“Two games, two losses, and I don’t think our defense was very good,” Erickson said.
The Dec. 7 loss to Miles City is one Northwest would like to have back.
The Trappers lost 79-76 in a tight, back-and-forth affair in which they got 16 more field goal attempts than the Pioneers and missed nine free throws.
“Miles City is tough,” Erickson said. “They came in and they earned every bit of it. Offensively, we didn't play that well.”
But it was the defense that Erickson points to.
“We’re not playing well enough as a team,” the coach said. “We’re not making those rotations as a team. (We’re) not guarding penetration well. We’re not helping the helper.”
Northwest had 16 more shots than Miles, and six more free throw attempts.
Gordon paced the Trappers with game-highs in points (18) and rebounds (12, including six on the offensive end) for a double- double in the losing effort. Gordon was 6-for-9 from both the field and the free throw line. The sophomore added two steals and an assist.
Sophomore Andreas Bigum scored 11 points on a 5-for-14 shooting night and tallied eight rebounds, one assist and a block.
Gordon and Bigum were the only Northwest starters to score more than six points.
Sophomore Jonothan Newsom came off the bench for 13 points, three rebounds, two steals and an assist.
Uzonwanne and Tyler Chandler each scored seven points. Uzonwanne had three rebounds, two blocks and a steal in 13 minutes. Chandler added four rebounds in his eight minutes.
The Trappers were 29 of 69 (42 percent) from the field, just 5 of 20 (25 percent) on 3-pointers and 13 of 22 from the foul line.
Northwest’s three-game slide began Dec. 4, when a season high in points wasn't enough against Gillette, which beat the Trappers 112-101.
Erickson said he tells his team if they hold opponents to less than 70 points, they should win, but “if it’s in the 90s or 100s, it’s going to be a tough game to win.”
Gillette’s full-team attack was too much for the Trappers. Six Pronghorns scored at least 11 points, including Renard Suggs, who dropped 29.
The Pronghorns led by 15 after the first half, and withstood Northwest’s comeback attempt to win by 11.
Solarin was Northwest’s top scorer with 20 points, and Newsom had 19. Bigum scored 11, and no other Trapper scored more than eight.
Rech went for eight points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Both teams shot the ball very well. Gillette made 54.8 percent of its shots, while Northwest shot at an even better 56.0 percent clip.
“It was kind of an up-and-down game, and both teams got a lot of easy buckets and scores, and we just couldn't stop them on the defensive end,” Erickson said.
The Trappers will have to wait until 2014 for their next conference win, but this weekend’s games give them a chance to build their confidence heading into the winter break.
A pair of victories would help Northwest to “come back rejuvenated to take it to the second part of the season.”
Northwest faces Region IX South’s Laramie County Community College Golden Eagles in Cabre Gym at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, and then takes on the Sons of Blue Angels at 5 p.m. on Saturday as part of the First Bank of Wyoming Shootout.
Erickson said Friday’s match up versus Laramie County gives his team a chance to avenge an early-season blowout.
The Trappers won’t play again until Jan. 8, when they host Casper College.
Stats for Tuesday night’s game against Dawson Community College were not available as of early Wednesday afternoon.