A rematch was what the Trappers wanted after losing by 35 points in Glendive last month. But Dawson Community College came to Powell on Friday and put on a shooting clinic to again push past Northwest, 100-81.

The NWC men’s basketball team (11-6) was hoping to break the press of the Buccaneers (12-1) after they blitzed the Trappers in their first matchup.

Early on in the game, the Trappers were able to break the pressure and go toe-to-toe with Dawson. Northwest came out in a zone defense in hopes of slowing down the fast-paced Buccaneer offense.

“We wanted to give them a
different look and slow them down,” NWC head coach Jay Collins said. “We play fast, but they play chaotic.”

The Trappers took an 8-3 lead three minutes into the game off a David Ayala 3-pointer, but then Dawson started to make their shots. A 7-0 run by the Buccaneers over the next three minutes gave them a 10-8 lead, and they never trailed from that point forward.

A 9-2 run by Dawson in just over a minute gave the momentum of the game to the Buccaneers.

“We tried to zone them, and stayed in it a little too long,” Collins said.

The Trappers were able to force Dawson into difficult shots at times, but despite the pressure, the buckets continued to drop for the Buccaneers.

The next six minutes saw Dawson grow its lead to 17 points, going up 42-25 with 6:30 remaining.

Northwest used a 16-6 run over the next five minutes to pull the game back to 48-41, but Dawson pushed it back to double digits at halftime leading 54-44.

Subbing five players in and out by each team allowed the game to be played at a fast pace, while Dawson increased its lead to 18 points over the first five minutes of the second half, 70-52.

Any run made by Northwest in an attempt to get back into the game in the second half was matched by the Buccaneers. They built their biggest lead of the game, at 24 points, with just under five minutes remaining. 

NWC trimmed the final score to 100-81.

The Trappers showed improvement from their first matchup a month ago, cutting down on turnovers. However, they were unable to find the bottom of the net consistently, shooting 40% from the field (compared to Dawson’s 55%) and 32% from 3-point range (where Dawson shot 50%).

Gabriel Gutierrez led the Trappers in scoring with 18 points, followed by Alex Pena Avila with 15. Oluwaseyi Oywku and Juan Pablo Camargo each scored 10 points.

Northwest was without guard Andre Loigu, who suffered a minor thigh injury and needed additional time to recover.

The Trappers are now on their winter break and will have three weeks until their next contest — on Jan. 13 at home against Miles Community College. 

Collins said he’s glad the team can finally be on a typical schedule instead of traveling around the entire region every weekend.

“I am excited for the schedule to be normal after break,” he said.

The game against Miles will be the team’s final non-conference game, as they begin Region IX play the following week on the road at Casper College.