Trappers Fall In Casper
On a no-love-lost, chippy night last week, the men of Northwest led by a bucket at halftime but fell short at the finish line to the Rustlers of Central Wyoming, 93-84.
On Saturday, the Trappers were overwhelmed at Casper College in a 122-70 loss that brought their season mark to 9-18. It was NWC’s 10th straight defeat.
There were three technical fouls in the Feb. 12 game, which started late so Trapper coaches and fans might bid a fond farewell to the sophomore men and women on their final appearance in Hank Cabre Gym. A total of 39 personal fouls were called in the game. Kyle Brown and Alan Swenson fouled out for Northwest as did Rustler Darius Guinn.
Northwest, up 40-38 at halftime, was led by Brown’s 25 points to which Max Dehon added 16. Jerome Mabry and Josh Petteno put up 14 apiece.
Northwest saw its lead slip away at 12:12 of the second half when the Rustlers went ahead by a point, 56-55. By the six-minute mark Central’s lead had broken into double figures, 79-68. The Trappers cut it to five, 89-84, with 25.3 seconds left but ran out of time.
James Woods netted 27 and Ja Ob Smith 20 for the Rustlers. Jaylon Gentry and Guinn added 16 and 13.
Northwest shot 30-57 from the field (52.6%) to Central’s 32-60 (53.3%).
Total team rebounds were 33 for Central to Northwest’s 26. The Trappers pulled down two offensive boards compared to six for the Rustlers.
Swenson led the assists and steals stats for the Trappers with five of each. Northwest was 16-25 at the free throw line to 17-20 by Central.
The Trappers enjoyed a lead of seven points at 18:29 of the second half, their largest of the night. Central’s largest lead peaked at 13 with 2:20 to play. There were seven ties and 12 lead changes in the hotly contested game.
Six Thunderbirds exploded into double figures in the scoring column and two hit the 20-point threshold in Saturday’s game at Casper College.
The Trappers were outscored 65-31 in the first half and 57-39 in the second.
Mabry netted 17 for Northwest and Brown added 16. Dehon made it three Trappers in double digits with 11 points.
The tall, lanky T-Birds owned the glass on this night with 50 rebounds to 21 for the Trappers. Offensive boards totaled 16 for Casper to Northwest’s three.
The Trappers hit 25-60 from all distances, 7-24 outside the arc and 13-16 at the line. Casper’s 17 3-pointers on 33 attempts gave the T-Birds a 30-point advantage from 3-point range alone. Swenson led the steals and assists columns for Northwest with five and three, points.
The Trappers visited Sheridan College Wednesday night and will wrap up their regular season Saturday on the road at Western Wyoming. Region IX postseason play begins Friday, Feb. 28 at sites yet to be determined.
Central — Woods 27, Smith 20, Gentry 16, Guinn 13, Dahir 9, Francois 5, Mensah 3.
Northwest — Brown 25, Dehon 16, Mabry 14, Petteno 14, Rambo Badyal 6, Swenson 4, Jahquel Goss 4, Axel Hohenstein 1.
Northwest — Mabry 17, Brown 16, Dehon 11, Swenson 9, Petteno 8, Jacob Schilder 3, Goss 3, Badyal 2, Hohenstein 1.
Casper — Harris 20, Walker 20, Robinson 15, Pepple, Jr. 14, Satchell 14, Byrd 10, Jamerman 8, Keita 6, Banks 5, N’Tula 3, Ninkingira 3, Freeman 2, Iheanachor 2.