Opening up the home conference schedule the Northwest College men’s basketball team was busy this week, finishing 2-1 against Region IX opponents in Cabre Gym. Northwest defeated Eastern Wyoming College 87-65 Thursday, lost 92-75 to Laramie County Community College on Saturday before rebounding and defeating Central Wyoming College 106-79 on Tuesday night.

NORTHWEST 87, EASTERN WYOMING 65

Returning home to Cabre Gym after starting the Region IX schedule on the road the Trappers (11-12 overall, 2-3 Region IX North) were seeking their first win of the conference season, opening the home schedule against the Lancers (4-16 overall, 1-3 Region IX North).

Northwest started out with a slight advantage, holding a 10-6 lead over the visitors after four minutes. The Trappers were looking to break away, but were unable as the Lancers eventually tied the contest at 18 with nine minutes left in the half.

That lit a spark under Northwest, which outscored Eastern Wyoming 14-2 over the next four minutes and established a double-digit advantage.

“I thought we did a pretty good job of guarding the dribble that game,” coach Andy Ward said.

Eastern had an answer, tightening the contest late in the half after outscoring Northwest 13-5 over the final five minutes to cut the Trapper lead to 37-33 at the half.

The Lancers cut the lead down to two multiple times in the first minute of the second half, but Northwest used a 10-2 scoring edge over a 3:30 span to grow the lead out to double-digits once again.

Eastern managed to cut down the lead to nine, down 58-49 with 10 minutes left in the game.

Nine once again was the advantage with seven minutes remaining at 68-59, before a 12-2 stretch helped the Trappers pull away from their opposition to earn an 87-65 victory and move to 1-2 in conference play.

“I thought we were able to execute pretty well offensively,” Ward said. “When we were patient we got good looks.”

Five Trappers scored in double-figures, led by Kolter Merritt who had a 19 point, 13 rebound double-double. Drew Larson joined Merritt with a 13 point, 10 rebound double-double of his own, as Colin Hayes had 16, Isaiah Halverson had 14 and Milton Rodriguez Santana had 10 as the final double-digit scorers. Will Hemme led the Trappers with seven assists and four steals.

LCCC 92, NORTHWEST 75

After the win Thursday the Trappers tried to reach .500 in Region IX play, welcoming the Golden Eagles (12-10 overall, 1-3 Region IX North) to Cabre Gym on Saturday.

Northwest came out early and gained a slight advantage, leading 9-8 four minutes in behind a strong start by Hayes. The Trappers continued to hold a small lead over the next eight minutes.

Northwest was finally able to push the advantage to double-digits, making it 30-20 with 6:30 left on a Larson basket. The lead hovered around double digits, before LCCC finished the half strong and had the Northwest lead down to 42-34 at the break.

The Golden Eagles burst out the gate in the second half, cutting the lead down to 51-49 inside the first five minutes.

Northwest tried to hold on, up 53-51 before a 3-pointer by LCCC gave the Golden Eagles the lead with just under 14 minutes left, forcing a Northwest timeout.

“We were just not in sync. We were a step late in recognizing an open player,” Ward said.

The visitors pushed the lead to eight points while also getting into the bonus with 11 minutes left.

It grew to double-digits at 71-61 with 8:30 left, before Northwest attempted to work its way back into the contest.

The Trappers got as close as 75-69 and forced an LCCC timeout with 6:09 remaining, but the Golden Eagles pushed it back to 10. Northwest was unable to get much closer, and the Golden Eagles walked away with a 92-75 win.

“The second half was really bad,” Ward said. “I told the guys that I coached a bad game. I didn’t make decisions in that half like I needed to for the team … It was a tough one to lose in that fashion.”

Hayes led with 28 points and added nine rebounds. Larson led with 10 rebounds along with eight points. Tessi Thong led with five assists.

NORTHWEST 106, CENTRAL WYOMING 79

Rounding out the busy schedule with their third game in six days the Trappers took on the Rustlers (12-11 overall, 3-2 Region IX North) on Tuesday, trying to rebound after losing the second half lead on Saturday.

Northwest came out strong, getting looks at the rim through dribble penetration to help build an early 12-7 lead. The Trappers continued to attack, finding the basket and making it double-digits after a Rodriguez Santana basket made it 19-9 with 12 minutes left.

Central had an answer, cutting the lead to 22-18 and forcing a Northwest timeout with 9:34 left.

Second chance opportunities helped cut the lead down to a single possession, before a scoring run gave the hosts breathing room.

“We did a good job guarding the arc, but probably gave up a little too much dribble penetration,” Ward said. “They hurt us on the glass, they got some offensive rebounds.”

A Halverson and-one followed by a Hemme 3-pointer and another Halverson basket, this time a 3-pointer, pushed the lead back out to 11 at 31-20 with just under seven minutes left.

That lead hovered between 10 and 14 for several minutes as Northwest got the Rustlers out of their press, before a small push appeared to get Central back into the game just before the break.

“I thought we handled their press really well,” Ward said.

Northwest resisted the push, and took a 47-36 lead into the locker room.

Out of the locker room the Trappers were on fire, extending their lead to 62-43 with 16:21 left behind strong shooting to force a Central timeout. A Merritt basket with 14 minutes left made it 70-50. Northwest continued to push, forcing another Central timeout after the Trappers made it 84-59 with 10:14 left.

In the second half, a fast-paced strong shooting effort helped the Trappers coast and earn a 106-79 victory with the largest lead being 29.

“It was a really good team effort,” Ward said. “We shot the ball really well, we shared the ball and moved it well.”

Northwest never trailed, with the Trapper bench outscoring Central’s bench 32-14.

Merritt finished with a 19 point, 11 rebound double-double, Larson had 18 points and five steals, Rodriguez Santana had 15, Colin Hayes had 12, Halverson had 12 and Hemme had 10 points with seven assists.

HOME STRETCH CONTINUES

The final game of the four game homestand will be Friday, when the Trappers welcome Gillette College to town.

The Pronghorns (19-3 overall, 4-0 Region IX North) made their return to the Region IX North this season after being shut down for several years following COVID-19, and will bring in the top team currently in the sub-region to Cabre Gym.

“Tough team. Very athletic and they are playing well,” Ward said. “Gillette is going to put plenty of pressure on us. We’ve gotta take care of the ball and rebound while playing well in transition.”

That game is set for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff as part of the First Bank of Wyoming Shootout with free admission for K-12 students.

NORTHWEST 87, EASTERN WYOMING 65

Total rebounds then offensive rebounds in ()

Points — Kolter Merritt 19, Colin Hayes 16, Isaiah Halverson 14, Drew Larson 13, Milton Rodriguez Santana 10, Tessi Thong 5, Preston Condie 3, Krue Stubbs 3, Will Hemme 2, Max Postiglione 2

Rebounds — Kolter Merritt 13 (3), Drew Larson 10 (1), Milton Rodriguez Santana 6 (3), Colin Hayes 6 (2), Will Hemme 2, Preston Condie 2 (1), Carter Clark 1, Max Postiglione 1, Krue Stubbs 1, Isaiah Halverson 1

Assists — Will Hemme 7, Milton Rodriguez Santana 2, Colin Hayes 2, Preston Condie 2, Kolter Merritt 1, Drew Larson 1

Steals — Will Hemme 4, Drew Larson 1

LCCC 92, NORTHWEST 75

Points — Colin Hayes 28, Will Hemme 8, Drew Larson 8, Tessi Thong 8, Milton Rodriguez Santana 7, Isaiah Halverson 7, Kolter Merritt 6, Krue Stubbs 3

Rebounds — Drew Larson 10 (4), Colin Hayes 9 (3), Milton Rodriguez Santana 5 (2), Will Hemme 3, Tessi Thong 3 (1), Kolter Merritt 2, Krue Stubbs 2, Isaiah Halverson 2 (1)

Assists — Tessi Thong 5, Milton Rodriguez Santana 3, Will Hemme 3, Drew Larson 2, Colin Hayes 2, Isaiah Halverson 1

Steals — Will Hemme 1, Kolter Merritt 1

NORTHWEST 106, CENTRAL WYOMING 79

Points — Kolter Merritt 19, Drew Larson 18, Milton Rodriguez Santana 15, Colin Hayes 12, Isaiah Halverson 12, Will Hemme 10, Tessi Thong 9, Krue Stubbs 7, Carter Clark 2, Preston Condie 2

Rebounds — Kolter Merritt 11 (5), Drew Larson 7 (1), Will Hemme 2, Max Postiglione 2, Tessi Thong 2 (2), Isaiah Halverson 2, Milton Rodriguez Santana 1 (1), Colin Hayes 1 (1), Carter Clark 1, Preston Condie 1

Assists — Will Hemme 7, Milton Rodriguez Santana 3, Drew Larson 2, Tessi Thong 1, Krue Stubbs 1, Isaiah Halverson 1

Steals — Drew Larson 5, Tessi Thong 2, Will Hemme 1, Isaiah Halverson 1

Blocks — Krue Stubbs 1