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Best Rocky JV 93-87
A putback by Jerome Mabry in the waning moments Monday helped Northwest College to a 93-87 basketball win over the Rocky Mountain College JV in Billings.
Mabry, a 6-foot, 5-inch freshman from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, grabbed an offensive rebound and scored to steady the Trappers down the stretch. That was after a sizable Trapper lead had shrunk to three points.
“It was a big basket for us,” said coach Jay Collins. “He [Mabry] went up and got it and put it in.”
The win was the third in a row for the Trapper men, who are now 6-5.
Collins watched his team almost squander a lead that hovered around 15 points for most of the second half through a combination of missed shots, costly turnovers and missed free throws. The Trappers led 52-42 at halftime.
“It was too close for comfort,” the coach said. “But a win is a win.”
Josh Petteno and Kyle Brown paced the NWC men with 27 and 23 points respectively. Petteno also had six rebounds and Brown grabbed seven.
Mabry finished with 17 points and six rebounds. Max Dehon scored eight points, Seth Mason seven, Alan Swenson six, Rambo Badyal four and Eric Jackson two.
It was a much closer affair than when the Rocky JV and NWC met at the Cabre Gym in November, when the Trappers pummeled the Battlin’ Bears 109-65.
The Trapper men have more Montana opponents — Miles Community College and Dawson Community College — coming to town Friday and Saturday for the First Bank Shootout.
Miles is the Friday night foe at 7:30 p.m. The Dawson game tips at 4 p.m. Saturday.
Northwest lost to both teams on their floors in the first weekend of the season in November. Miles beat the Trappers 99-90, and Dawson prevailed 94-67.
“Both of them are playing really well,” said Collins. Both teams hold wins over Casper College.
Miles (7-1) lost its first game of the year to Dawson, but has won seven in a row since then. Dawson’s record stands at 8-2.