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A season that started 0-6 for the Northwest College men’s basketball team has rebounded to a 9-9 record after non-conference play. The Trappers held off a Rocky Mountain JV rally on Friday to win 93-85 before a dominant start helped Northwest cruise against Jump Start Academy 93-68.
NORTHWEST 93, ROCKY MOUNTAIN JV 85Early on both the Trappers (9-9) and the Battlin’ Bears were fighting for an advantage, with the visitors gaining the early lead up 14-8 four minutes into the contest.
Northwest outscored Rocky 10-2 over the next four minutes to gain the lead, one it would quickly expand over the next five minutes.
A pair of Kolter Merritt free throws put Northwest up 30-20 with 7:15 left in the half.
The lead grew to as many as 18 in the first half, and the Trappers held a 46-30 advantage at the break.
That 18-point advantage came once again with 14:13 left in the game to the tune of a 62-44 scoreline, before the visitors started chipping away at the lead.
Northwest appeared to be heading towards a comfortable victory up 77-62 thanks to a Colin Hayes jumper, before Rocky put on a furious rally.
“Colin has been playing well,” coach Andy Ward said. “He does a lot of things for us. He’s a versatile defender and I think things are kind of clicking for him. He’s got some games under his belt, an early injury and it took him a little while. He’s scoring the ball well for us.”
An 18-2 run from that point forward thanks to strong shooting by the Battlin’ Bears gave the visitors their first lead since it was 16-15, 7:30 into the game.
“They made 16 3-pointers in the game. We obviously didn’t guard the arc very well,” Ward said. “I had us in some defensive schemes that we are really trying to work on. We weren’t very good at it. I probably stayed with it too long, we were slow in our rotations.”
With just under four minutes left, Northwest responded through Hayes, who scored the Trappers’ next six points as part of his game high 29 points.
The Trappers held onto the lead late thanks to free throws, two from Milton Rodriguez Santana and six straight from Will Hemme to ice the game and finish with a 93-85 scoreline.
Hayes added 12 rebounds on top of his 29 points to finish with a double-double, Hemme finished with 16 and eight assists.
Drew Larson had 13 and Rodriguez Santana finished with 10 as the final double-digit scorer.
NORTHWEST 93, JUMP START ACADEMY 68After the narrow win Friday evening, Northwest turned its attention to Jump Start Academy on Saturday, attempting to win a season-high fourth consecutive game.
Northwest came out strong, building a 10-0 lead over the first four minutes, quickly pushing it out to a 17-point advantage after the first nine.
The visitors did battle the remainder of the first half, cutting it down to as little as 10 points, but the Trappers held a 42-28 lead into the break.
“We got on them early but we had some lulls. We’ve got to be better with the lead,” Ward said.
A quick burst in the second half quickly pushed the advantage out to 20 points, allowing the Trappers to have some breathing room early on.
Seventeen was the smallest the advantage got in the second half, growing as large as 28 points as Northwest cruised to a fourth straight win.
Isaiah Halverson led with 24 points, just ahead of Hayes with 18, Drew Larson had 17 while Rodriguez Santana and Merritt had 10.
“He [Halverson] can really score the ball,” Ward said. “He’s a dangerous offensive player because he can score it in multiple ways. He’s a bigger body and pretty athletic.”
Hemme led with 11 assists for the Trappers.
REGION IX STARTHeading out this weekend the Trappers will be going to Rock Springs to take on Western Wyoming (11-6) at 7:30 p.m. on Friday to kick off Region IX North play.
That will be followed by a trip to Casper to take on Casper College (11-7) at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
“It’s all going to be what I think it’s about every game. Defending and rebounding, taking care of the ball and getting good shots. We gotta make sure we do that and it will give us the best chance of winning,” Ward said.
NORTHWEST 93, ROCKY MOUNTAIN JV 85Total rebounds then offensive rebounds in ()Points — Colin Hayes 29, Will Hemme 16, Drew Larson 13, Milton Rodriguez Santana 10, Isaiah Halverson 8, Kolter Merritt 7, Carter Clark 5, Max Postiglione 3, Tessi Thong 2Rebounds — Colin Hayes 12 (5), Isaiah Halverson 7 (1), Milton Rodriguez Santana 6 (3), Drew Larson 5 (3), Will Hemme 4 (1), Kolter Merritt 4, Tessi Thong 3, Carter Clark 1Assists — Will Hemme 8, Milton Rodriguez Santana 3, Tessi Thong 3, Carter Clark 2, Colin Hayes 2, Krue Stubbs 1, Max Postiglione 1Steals — Milton Rodriguez Santana 2, Carter Clark 1, Max Postiglione 1Blocks — Milton Rodriguez Santana 1
NORTHWEST 93, JUMP START ACADEMY 68Points — Isaiah Halverson 24, Colin Hayes 18, Drew Larson 17, Milton Rodriguez Santana 10, Kolter Merritt 10, Tessi Thong 6, Will Hemme 4, Krue Stubbs 3, Jean Carlo Villanueva 1Rebounds — Drew Larson 7 (2), Milton Rodriguez Santana 6 (1), Will Hemme 5, Kolter Merritt 5, Colin Hayes 4 (1), Carter Clark 3, Isaiah Halverson 3 (1), Max Postiglione 2 (1), Tessi Thong 2Assists — Will Hemme 11, Carter Clark 3, Kolter Merritt 3, Krue Stubbs 2, Milton Rodriguez Santana 1, Colin Hayes 1, Tessi Thong 1, Jean Carlo Villanueva 1, Isaiah Halverson 1Steals — Milton Rodriguez Santana 3, Krue Stubbs 1, Drew Larson 1, Colin Hayes 1, Tessi Thong 1, Kolter Merritt 1, Isaiah Halverson 1Blocks — Milton Rodriguez Santana 1, Drew Larson 1, Tessi Thong 1