Your future, our focus
NWC Drops A Heartbreaker Against AWC, Blows Out Tohono O-odham
In the first half of Tuesday night’s home game, the Northwest College men’s basketball team built up a double-digit lead against Laramie County Community College. However, due to what their coach saw as a lack of effort in the second half, the Trappers ended up losing the game, 84-80.
“We did not play hard enough,” said NWC head coach Brian Erickson. “We got outworked. LCCC outworked us and that’s why they got the ‘W.’”
The Trappers put the first points onto the board in Tuesday’s game, and at one point, they led by 17 points.
But the Eagles fought back to cut the lead to 10 going into halftime, with a score of 40-30.
In the second half, LCCC continued to fight.
With about 13 minutes remaining in the game, the Eagles took a 48-47 lead.
From there the two teams battled until LCCC took a 63-60 lead with 7:53 left to play. The Eagles then ran that up to a 10-point, 75-65 advantage with 2:55 left on clock.
NWC started to decrease the lead and came back to within three points, 78-75 with 37 seconds remaning.
But the Trappers were unable to get the lead in the final seconds of the game and lost 84-80.
“In the end we got outplayed and it comes down to us,” said Erickson. “Things aren’t [always] going to go the right way.”
Erickson went on to say that one thing the Trappers can control is effort — and “it just wasn’t there the second half,” he said, adding, “not enough guys gave enough.”
In the second half, the Trappers were outscored 54- 37 by LCCC.
At the free throw line, the Trappers’ shooting percentage dropped from 66.7 percent in the first half to 50 percent in the second whereas LCCC improved from a 54.5 percent shooting to 71.4 percent.
Northwest had 19 turnovers to LCCC’s 12.
Calvin Fugett Jr. led in points for the Trappers with 16, followed by Lagio Grantsaan with 15 and Luc Lombardy and Umar Jalloh with 11 apiece.
On the boards, Grantsaan led with seven rebounds, six on defense and one offensive, followed by Umar Jalloh with six — five defensive and one on offense.
Next up for the Trapper basketball team is the Lions Club Classic on Friday and Saturday in Sheridan. The first game of the Classic will pit NWC against Williston State College at 4 p.m. Friday and the second game will be on Saturday against Rocky Mountain JV at 2 p.m.