One last long road trip of the first semester saw the Northwest College men’s basketball team drop a pair of games against difficult opponents, as the Trappers fell to Williston State College 79-71 on Friday and to Dawson Community College 79-72 on Saturday.

WILLISTON STATE 79, NORTHWEST 71

Starting off in North Dakota once again the Trappers (9-5) and Tetons (9-3) kicked off the long road trip Friday night.

Early on the Trappers matched the tone of the Tetons, leading 13-12 four minutes in.

Northwest pushed its advantage out further, making it 24-19 after a Tate Monroe layup.

The Tetons answered with a 9-2 run over the next four minutes, gaining the lead up 28-26.

Late in the half the hosts grew their advantage, making it 40-33 with just over three minutes left.

Northwest pushed over the final three minutes, tying it at 43 late after a Tessi Thong layup, but a jumper at the buzzer gave the Tetons a 45-43 advantage at the break.

Early in the second half the Trappers regained the lead, and were up 51-47 after a Colin Hayes layup with 15:47 remaining in the game.

The two teams exchanged baskets, and the Tetons regained the lead up 60-58 with 12:02 remaining.

An 11-2 run pushed that lead to double digits up 71-60 with 6:51 remaining as Northwest searched for an offensive spark.

The lead remained around that margin the rest of the way, with the Trappers getting no closer than six points as the Tetons finished with a 79-71 win.

Northwest was outrebounded 35-26, something coach Andy Ward noted was one of the factors that led to the defeat as the Tetons also got 12 more shot attempts compared to the Trappers.

“We did a poor job on the glass,” Ward said. “We shot well in the first half but went cold in the second half.”

Hayes led with 24 points, while Drew Larson had 17 points and led with seven rebounds.

Tessi Thong led with five assists and four steals.

DAWSON CC 79, NORTHWEST 72

Heading into Saturday the Trappers got a rematch against the Buccaneers (10-1), seeking revenge for a home overtime loss two weeks prior.

Once again the Trappers were able to slow down the pace for the Buccaneers, as the two teams were tied 8-8 four minutes in.

That pace held, as neither team pulled away early with Dawson holding a slight 15-13 lead with 12 minutes remaining in the half.

Northwest responded, and pushed the lead out to four points after an Eli Patterson layup to make it 20-16 with 7:38 left.

Dawson regained the lead, up 25-22 with four minutes remaining.

A stronger push over the final four minutes saw Dawson push its advantage to four as a late 3-pointer made it 33-29 at the half.

Dawson came out strong in the second half, pushing the pace and building a double digit advantage up 52-38 with 15:31 left.

The Buccaneers continued to hold that lead, as Northwest looked for a way to chip away at a double digit lead.

That run did not come until late in the contest, when Northwest cut the lead down to six after a Ruben Bos free throw with 3:55 left.

Northwest was unable to get closer than six, as Dawson finished the game with a 79-72 win.

Northwest finished the game shooting 3-18 (16.7%) from 3-point range while the Buccaneers finished 14-26 (53.8%).

“We shot it poorly from three,” Ward said. “Had chances in both games, we’ve gotta be more consistent on both ends of the floor. The guys gave a great effort but came up short.”

Kaden Christensen led with 21 points, Hayes had 14 and Thong had 12 along with a team high five assists and four steals.

Larson tied for the team lead with six rebounds alongside Ants-Kristjan Kalmus.

FINAL FIRST SEMESTER GAMES

The Trappers will return home this weekend, playing two games in front of the home crowd before the winter break.

Northwest will take on an All-Star team on Friday night at 7:30 p.m., with the team coming from Utah to face the Trappers.

On Saturday the Trappers will wrap up the first semester of action at 1 p.m. by taking on the Northwest College Alumni.

WILLISTON STATE 79, NORTHWEST 71

Total rebounds then offensive rebounds in ()

Points — Colin Hayes 24, Drew Larson 17, Tessi Thong 8, Kaden Christensen 7, Preston Condie 5, Tate Monroe 4, Trey Rinn 2, Eli Patterson 2

Rebounds — Drew Larson 7 (2), Tessi Thong 5 (1), Eli Patterson 4 (2), Preston Condie 3 (1), Colin Hayes 3 (1), Trey Rinn 2 (1), Tate Monroe 1, Ruben Bos 1

Assists — Tessi Thong 5, Kaden Christensen 1, Carter Clark 1

Steals — Tessi Thong 4, Kaden Christensen 1, Preston Condie 1

Blocks — Kaden Christensen 1

DAWSON CC 79, NORTHWEST 72

Points — Kaden Christensen 21, Colin Hayes 14, Tessi Thong 12, Drew Larson 8, Tate Monroe 6, Preston Condie 5, Eli Patterson 3, Ants-Kristjan Kalmus 2, Ruben Bos 1

Rebounds — Drew Larson 6 (1), Ants-Kristjan Kalmus 6 (3), Preston Condie 4, Eli Patterson 4 (2), Tessi Thong 3 (1), Kaden Christensen 2 (1), Tate Monroe 2, Ruben Bos 2 (2), Carter Clark 1

Assists — Tessi Thong 5, Preston Condie 1, Colin Hayes 1, Tate Monroe 1

Steals — Tessi Thong 4, Kaden Christensen 2, Colin Hayes 2, Tate Monroe 2, Drew Larson 1

Blocks — Colin Hayes 1, Ants-Kristjan Kalmus 1