Your future, our focus
Trapper Men’s and Women’s Coaches Searching for Fundamental, Consistent Play From Teams
With an offense like this, who needs defense?
Well, Northwest College men’s basketball coach Brian Erickson does. And despite a 3-0 road trip in which the Trappers averaged 105 points per game, Erickson is hoping NWC puts the pressure on sooner than later.
“If we’re going to be scoring in the 90s or 100s, we’ve gotta keep teams in the 70s or 80s if we’re going to win,” Erickson said. “I’m really happy we got the wins, but I’m disappointed in how we played defensively. That’s all we’re going to do this week [in practice] — defense, defense, defense.”
Erickson’s defensive frustrations came after NWC (4-1) followed a 77-65 win over Dawson Community College on Thursday with 101-83 and 138- 128 (overtime) victories over Bismarck State College and United Tribes Technical College on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
“It’s all fundamental. I keep telling our guys, ‘If we can just play our basketball, we’ll be good,’” Erickson added. “We’re making too many mistakes still, we’re leaving our feet on defense. There are a lot of unfundamental mistakes we’re making early, and we’ve gotta get better if we’re going to compete in the region and toward the end of the year.”
Offensively, the Trappers are competing at an elite level. Behind sophomore William Desilien (fifth in the NJCAA Division I in scoring) and Chris Boucher (ninth in scoring, first in blocks), NWC has won three straight games and is carrying positive momentum heading into its first home tournament of the year, the First Bank of Wyoming Shootout at Cabre Gym on Friday (Bismarck State College, 7:30 p.m.) and Saturday (Dawson Community College at 5 p.m.).
Against Dawson, Desilien knocked down 22 points and swiped four steals while Boucher drained 17 to go with 15 rebounds and a robust six blocks. Sophomore Daryle Morgan added 10 points to the effort as did freshman Ammar Rehman.
But again, Erickson wanted more from the defense after his team was outscored 47-37 in the second half.
“We played really well defensively in the first half, I felt like we did a pretty good job,” Erickson said. “But in the second half we just gave up too many points, especially in the last 10 minutes of the play.”
The next day, at the Bismarck State Tournament in Bismarck, N.D., NWC ran past BSC after building a 56-41 lead at the break. Erickson was happy with Desilien, who not only scored 31 points, but added eight assists to his stat line.
“When you can 31 points and still dish out eight assists, it really shows a selflessness and a willingness to help your team,” Erickson said of Desilien. “We’ve got plenty of guys that can score on this team, but when they’re aiding each other, that’s huge.”
Boucher added 31 points of his own with an impressive seven blocks and 17 rebounds. EJ Hubbard chipped in 17 points and Rehman added 10.
It took extra time for NWC to down United Tribes, as the Trappers lost an eight-point cushion after halftime. But behind a monster effort from Boucher, who had 32 points, 12 rebounds and 11 blocks for a triple-double effort, NWC outscored UTTC 23-13 in overtime for the win.
Desilien scored another 31 points to go with seven assists and three steals. Morgan dropped 27 with 10 boards, Hubbard added 11 points and Rehman sank 19 off the bench.
On the flip side however, the Trappers committed 22 turnovers while allowing UTTC to convert 22-of-48 3-point attempts.
“I’m happy with the scoring, I’m happy we’re creating and hitting shots, but you can’t have that kind of defensive effort at the perimeter if you want to win,” Erickson said. “Still, we’ve found a way to win in spite of the early woes, and now we get a chance to come home and play in front of our fans.
“On the road, you’re lucky if you split your games, but we’re coming home 3-0 on the road, and the guys have said ‘Well, time to go home — we don’t lose at home.’”