Your future, our focus
The Northwest College men’s basketball team is either 9-3 or 10-3 after last weekend.
An interpreter is needed to analyze the results.
The Trappers defeated Game Gear, an all-star team from Utah, 105-66 at home Friday night to push their record to 9-3.
But a scheduled game against the Colorado Kings, an all-star team from Colorado Springs, fell through Saturday.
There was a family emergency affecting three related players on the squad and the Kings pulled out of Powell and went home.
That might go down as a forfeit, which would make Northwest’s record 10-3, but the only reason coach Brian Erickson would want to keep the forfeit is to make sure his team has enough required regular-season games. He would prefer to find a late fill-in game, but that may be difficult on short notice.
“We need all the game experience we can get,” Erickson said of his young team that has been almost completely rebuilt from last year’s National Junior College quarterfinalists.
The Trappers put five players in double figures in the victory over Game Gear and that was without leading scorer Joel Maumba, who was sidelined with an injury.
Jordan Root pumped in 17 points and Grantham Gillard scored 15. Grantham’s brother Graham, Dan Milota and Levi Londole, each scored 12 points. Londole also contributed 10 rebounds.
The Trappers shot 55.3 percent from the field
“We were a little shorthanded without Joel,” Erickson said.
The Trappers are now on holiday break and do not play again until Dec. 31-Jan. 2 in a tournament in Ontario, Ore. at Treasure Valley Community College.
The reigning Region IX champions will open defense of their district title Jan. 6 at home against Casper College.
“We’ve grown a lot and become a better team,” Erickson said. “That’s what I was looking for before we go to break.”
(Lew Freedman can be reached at lew@codyenterprise.com.)