Free throws were the difference in the final home games for the Northwest College men’s basketball team, losing 93-84 to Casper College last Wednesday before defeating Western Wyoming 83-75 on Saturday.

CASPER COLLEGE 93, NORTHWEST 84

Last Wednesday the Trappers (13-16 overall, 4-7 Region IX North) welcomed the Thunderbirds (20-8 overall, 8-2 Region IX North). A 42-point performance from Colin Hayes was not enough to overcome a dominant free throw game by the visitors.

Early on a big run by the visitors stunned the home team, as the Thunderbirds stormed out the gates to the tune of a 19-2 lead four minutes into the game.

“We obviously didn’t plan to come out and dig ourselves a hole,” coach Andy Ward said.

Isaiah Halverson stopped the bleeding, and the Trappers started chipping away at the lead for the next 16 minutes.

Northwest battled, but the visitors led by double-digits over the next 10 minutes.

That was until a Hayes jump shot finally cut the lead down to eight, trailing 36-28 with 6:17 remaining in the half.

The Trappers got the game within a single possession after a Will Hemme 3-pointer with 3:55 left, but were unable to tie or take the lead.

It got as close as two points but the Thunderbirds continued to hold a 52-48 lead at the break.

The visitors had another strong start in the second half, pushing the advantage to double-digits less than two minutes into the half at 58-48.

Once again the Trappers clawed back behind Hayes, who scored seven of the first 10 and helped Northwest eventually cut the lead to 62-58.

Casper College continued to respond, extending its advantage back out to double-digits with 13 minutes left, as the lead held for nearly nine minutes.

“They press and we didn’t take good enough care of the ball. That puts them in the open floor and it’s hard to stop,” Ward said.

Northwest got the lead down to single digits over the final minutes but did not get closer than eight as the Trappers fell 93-84.

The Trappers shot efficiently at the free throw line going 10-11, but fell in the contest after Casper College shot 21-31 in the victory.

“We are such a good free throw shooting team,” Ward said. “We didn’t get dribble penetration … We just haven’t been getting to the line enough.”

Hayes not only scored half of Northwest’s points, he added nine rebounds.

“I want to get him shots and he was efficient,” Ward said. “We need to play off of him a little more.”

Halverson had 16 points, Hemme had 12 points and eight assists. Kolter Merritt led with 12 rebounds.

NORTHWEST 83, WESTERN WYOMING 75

In the final home game of the season Saturday the Trappers welcomed the Mustangs (14-13 overall, 3-7 Region IX North) to Cabre Gym.

Early on neither team gained a significant advantage, with the lead constantly changing over the first six minutes.

After leading 14-13, an 11-0 Trappers run helped build a double-digit lead at 25-13 midway through the half.

“We played more aggressively, and I thought we took better care of the ball in general,” Ward said.

Northwest continued to hold the advantage the rest of the half, keeping it near double-digits before the Mustangs cut it to 40-34 going into the locker room.

Early in the second half the Trappers attacked, quickly building the lead to 14 up 50-36.

It stretched to as many as 17 at 66-49 midway through the half after a Drew Larson jumper.

Western started cutting into the lead over the next six minutes, making it as close as 70-64 with four minutes left.

Northwest held off the charge, making it a 14 point game once again and finishing with an 83-75 win. 

Re-emphasizing the need to get to the free throw line in the contest, Ward was pleased with the effort of the Trappers going 30-35 compared to 12-19 for the Mustangs.

“One of our goals was to win the free throw line battle. We’ve got to get there and we hadn’t been. That was the difference in the game,” Ward said.

Larson led with 19 points, Tessi Thong had 16, Merritt had a 15 point, 10 rebound double-double and Milton Rodriguez Santana had 13 points and four steals.

FINAL GAME AND POSTSEASON

Northwest will now head on the road this weekend, needing a win against the top team in the region Gillette College (24-4 overall, 9-1 Region IX North) at 4 p.m. on Saturday for a chance at a home play-in game.

“We can’t host if we don’t win,” Ward said. “We will have to play well. They’re the No. 1 team in the league. We had a chance here and squandered some of our opportunities.”

The Trappers can range anywhere from the 4-6 seed heading into the postseason, currently sitting in the No. 5 seed heading into the final week.

Northwest is  half a game behind Laramie County Community College (15-13 overall, 4-6 Region IX North) and would need the Golden Eagles to lose their last two games in addition to winning at the Pronghorns.

The Trappers can still not host with a win — that would happen if the Trappers win, Western Wyoming wins both of its games and LCCC loses both. In that case, Northwest would lose on the road victories tiebreaker to Western Wyoming in region play.

If Western defeats Eastern Wyoming (4-22 overall, 1-9 Region IX North), loses to LCCC and Northwest loses, then the two teams would be tied in nearly every category and it would likely come to a coin flip for the No. 5 or 6 seed.

CASPER COLLEGE 93, NORTHWEST 84

Total rebounds then offensive rebounds in ()

Points — Colin Hayes 42, Isaiah Halverson 16, Will Hemme 12, Milton Rodriguez Santana 4, Kolter Merritt 4, Tessi Thong 4, Preston Condie 2

Rebounds — Kolter Merritt 12 (3), Colin Hayes 9 (6), Isaiah Halverson 7, Preston Condie 4 (1), Will Hemme 3, Milton Rodriguez Santana 2 (1), Drew Larson 1

Assists — Will Hemme 8, Milton Rodriguez Santana 4, Kolter Merritt 4, Tessi Thong 3, Isaiah Halverson 2, Colin Hayes 1

Steals — Drew Larson 1, Isaiah Halverson 1

Blocks — Tessi Thong 2

NORTHWEST 83, WESTERN WYOMING 75

Points — Drew Larson 19, Tessi Thong 16, Kolter Merritt 15, Milton Rodriguez Santana 13, Isaiah Halverson 6, Colin Hayes 5, Will Hemme 4, Krue Stubbs 3, Preston Condie 2

Rebounds — Kolter Merritt 10 (2), Tessi Thong 6 (1), Drew Larson 5 (1), Isaiah Halverson 5 (2), Milton Rodriguez Santana 4 (1), Max Postiglione 3, Preston Condie 2, Will Hemme 1, Colin Hayes 1

Assists — Will Hemme 4, Kolter Merritt 3, Tessi Thong 3, Isaiah Halverson 3, Drew Larson 2, Preston Condie 1

Steals — Milton Rodriguez Santana 4, Will Hemme 2, Tessi thong 2, Drew Larson 1, Isaiah Halverson 1

Blocks — Colin Hayes 1