Your future, our focus
Trappers Go 0-2 At Snow College Classic
The Northwest College men’s basketball team stumbled a bit coming out of the blocks last weekend, opening the 2018-19 season with a pair of losses on the road at the Snow College Classic in Ephraim, Utah.
The Trappers battled the host team Friday, falling to the Badgers 100-69 to open the tournament. Northwest fared better the following day against Utah State Eastern, hanging with the Cougars until a late second-half run by Eastern put the game away for good at 67-53.
First-year head coach Dawud Abdur-Rahkman — brought in just three weeks ago to replace former coach and current NWC athletic director Brian Erickson — said he learned a lot about his team over the course of the two games.
“I thought [the weekend] was very informational,” Abdur-Rahkman said. “When you go and compete, the first thing you look for is the information from the kids and the feedback from how they respond to challenges and adversity. We’ve only been together for a short time, so I’m asking a lot of these guys. But I think they can handle that.”
SNOW COLLEGE 100, TRAPPERS 69
First-game jitters were evident for the Trappers against Snow College, as the players began to implement a new style.
“I’m telling the guys to have faith in what we’re trying to do,” Abdur-Rahkman said. “Don’t try to veer off into what you want to do. That’s usually what happens when you’re trying to execute something that you’re not familiar with.”
Sophomore Reme Torbert led the way for the Trappers, netting 19 points to go along with six steals. Saheem Anthony followed with 13 points, while Lagio Grantsaan and Jason Feliz added eight points apiece.
The Trappers shot 43 percent from the 3-point line, finishing with nine buckets from the arc, three from Torbert and a pair from Anthony. From the field, Northwest shot 38 percent and 69 percent from the free throw line.
UTAH STATE EASTERN 67, TRAPPERS 53
Against the Cougars on Saturday, Northwest took the court with more confidence — despite the loss of the team’s leading scorer from the night before.
“Everyone that watched us said from day one to day two we were so much improved,” Abdur-Rahkman said. “And we didn’t have Reme Torbert for the second game; he’s going to be a guy that’s standout for us.”
The Trappers trailed by just eight points at the half, 40-32. Scoring slowed a bit for both teams in the second half, with the Cougars again outscoring Northwest by eight to finish out the 67-53 win.
“I told the guys after the game to just believe in the process, and know that we’re going to get better,” Abdur-Rahkman said. “As we get better, we’ll have more successes.”
Anthony had another solid night for the Trappers, leading all scorers with 20 points and five boards. “Saheem [Anthony] has great potential,” Abdur-Rahkman said. “He’s one of those guys as well that he can get sidetracked at times — taking two dribbles and jacking up a shot.”
Grantsaan, a double-double machine at the start of last year, was a bucket away from his first double-double of the season, netting eight points and 11 boards. Feliz added eight points and Kyle Brown chipped in seven.
“Lagio [Grantsaan], I like him too,” Abdur-Rahkman said. “He’s a kid that really — and I have to convince him of this — might have the brightest upside, if he can just get beyond himself. When things don’t go well he tends to withdraw. But he has size, and he can shoot the three. If he stays focused, I like the way he plays.”
The Trappers begin a three-game road swing Thursday against Williston State in North Dakota. That’s followed by a game against Dawson Community College in Glendive, Montana, on Friday and Miles Community College Saturday. Asked his expectations for the weekend, “I would not be surprised if we win two of those games,” Abdur-Rahkman said. “My expectation in this little road stint is that we come out with a better understanding for each other. We’ll make adjustments based on what I’ve seen the last two games, and hopefully that will reflect an improvement on our performance.”
Against Eastern, Abdur-Rahkman said the Trappers came together as a team, with players on the bench supporting the ones on the court.
“We showed a winning attitude that game,” he said. “That’s something we will continue to develop, as well as how we handle adversity. ... I thought we did a much better job during the second game. I was impressed with our winning attitude and bench decorum.”
So were the coaches of the opposing team, it turns out.
“One of the coaches from Utah State Eastern said to me after the game, ‘Coach, I am so happy that we played you guys early in the season. Come the end of January, I would not want to play you,’” Abdur-Rahkman said. “I felt good about that.”