Your future, our focus
Unselfish Offense Show Team Growth
The Northwest College men’s basketball team won two games in Glendive, Montana, by a combined 43 points over the weekend as the Trappers pushed its win streak to eight games.
Five Trappers — including four starters — scored at least 13 points in a 92-74 win against Fort Berthold on Saturday, and four Trappers scored in double figures in a 77-52 win at Dawson on Friday.
Balance and depth was once again key as the Trappers played without Jordy Telfort, who will miss at least six-to-eight weeks with a knee injury.
NWC head coach Brian Erickson said his team’s unselfish play — especially on offense — was a welcome sight, and noticeable early on in Friday’s contest against the Bucs.
“We scored 70 points when we played Dawson (in Powell) and we scored 77 at their place,” Erickson said. “There was a huge difference of, we ran our offense, we worked together, we made the extra pass. There was a big buy in by these guys. The biggest thing was they started trusting each other a lot more.”
Contributions from the bench also aided the Trappers, who got big games from two reserves over the weekend.
Freshman Sukhjot Bains had 14 points, 12 rebounds and two steals off the bench against Fort Berthold, and sophomore Daniel Milota scored 11 points in 20 reserve minutes on Friday.
“He’s kind of our old reliable,” Erickson said of Milota.
Bains, who started in place of Milota on Friday, had 10 points and a game-high 16 boards to go with five assists and three steals in 26 minutes.
“Sukh this weekend, he had a double-double in both games. He’s had three games within the last nine days that had double-doubles,” Erickson said. “He’s starting to figure it out. We started him Friday and brought him off the bench on Saturday and he had a great weekend.”
Erickson said time with the Trappers has allowed Bains to settle in to a rhythm and play to his strengths.
“He’s a really good shooter, but he’s kind of been settling for outside shots. He really stepped up and got offensive rebounds and is just making things happen,” Erickson said. “He’s figuring out how he fits in with his team.”
Milota led the Trappers in scoring with 17 points and added seven rebounds against Fort Berthold. Fellow starters Joel Tshimanga (14 points, 13 rebounds, three steals), Grantham Gilliard (14 points, six rebounds, two assists) and Garrison Gilliard (13 points, three rebounds, three assists) also notched at least 13 points on Saturday.
“The biggest thing from this weekend is we made the extra pass, and probably more than the extra pass,” Erickson said. “Just a lot more team-oriented.”
Redshirt sophomore Jordan Rood tied Tshimanga as the team’s top scorer with 12 points against Fort Berthold.
Northwest played a more team-oriented defense, as well, though Erickson noted it was just the first step in becoming a sound defensive team.
The Trappers held Dawson to 30 percent from the field and forced 21 turnovers while committing just 11 themselves. Only one Bucs player, Daniel Shedden (12 points), scored more than eight.
“We made that first rotation. We weren’t great on that next rotation, still got a lot of work to do, but started making those strides of helping each other out a lot more,” Erickson said.
The improved defensive effort was necessary for a first half comeback against Fort Berthold.
“We got down by about 10. We struggled a little bit putting the ball in the basket and it affected us for the first five minutes,” Erickson said. “We put a half court trap on them and got a couple steals.”
The Trappers ran away with a pair of blowout victories, but displayed a lack of concentration at the free throw line, where they were a combined 33 of 57 (57.9 percent).
“No matter how good or bad you are, free throw shooting is something you always work on,” Erickson said. “A lot of it is mental. We do a lot of pressure free throw shooting throughout practice. We start that way with pressure free throws and try to get after it. They got to focus in a lot more and understand how important they are.”
Telfort has a suspected meniscus injury suffered while landing after a dunk during a home game against Bismarck State on Nov. 13. Erickson said the team and Telfort’s doctors are still trying to identify the best course of action, but the 6-5 freshman from Montreal, Canada, may require surgery, and a timetable for Telfort’s return starts at six-eight weeks, but could be longer, possibly the entire season.
The Trappers travel to Sheridan today (Friday) to take on Williston State at 4 p.m. inside the Golden Dome.
Northwest plays Dakota State Bottineau at 2 p.m. on Saturday.