NWC MEN LOSE IN QUARTERFINAL
BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune
Heading to Gillette for the Region IX Tournament the Northwest College men's basketball team fell for the second consecutive year in the Region IX quarterfinal, this time to Western Nebraska 84-67.
WESTERN NEBRASKA 86, NORTHWEST 67
Advancing to the quarterfinals for the third straight year the Region IX North No. 3-seeded Trappers (19-12) matched up with the Region IX South No. 2-seeded Cougars (14-17).
Turnovers plagued the Trappers early, leading to a slow start as they fell behind 5-0 in the first two minutes to the Cougars.
"The first four possessions we turned the ball over," coach Andy Ward said.
The slow start continued thanks to the defensive pressure of Western, as Northwest fell behind by double digits with 13 minutes remaining after a quick rebound and outlet led to a layup to make it 16-6.
The Trappers trailed 24-11 with eight minutes remaining.
Western continued to press and push the advantage, making it a 34-14 game with five minutes left.
Unable to chip away at the lead in the final five minutes of the half, the Trappers trailed 42-22 heading into the locker room.
"I don't think we got bad shots, but sometimes they were a little rushed and we didn't shoot well," Ward said. "I think we were 0-10 from three in the first half. That just puts a lot of pressure on your defense. We dug ourselves a pretty big hole early … I don't know, it was disappointing because we just seemed out of sync."
Despite better scoring in the second half the Trappers continued to trail by a significant margin as they were behind 52-34 with 15 minutes left.
Northwest was unable to make a significant run without Western responding, but the Trappers inched closer and trailed 58-43 with just under 11 minutes left.
"We went in and made a few adjustments to how we were breaking their pressure at halftime," Ward said. "Because Western Nebraska plays so fast we knew there were going to be enough possessions for us to get back in the game."
Unfortunately a quick response with a 5-0 run in 30 seconds kicked the lead back out to 20 at 63-43 with 10:30 left.
Northwest was unable to make any run to get the lead down to single digits and fell 86-67 to end the Trappers' season.
"I know the guys are disappointed that we didn't play better at that stage. I was surprised, really, that we didn't play better," Ward said. "I thought we had a pretty good week of practice, but we just didn't make shots and they did. We turned it over and didn't make free throws. Just didn't do a lot of things well enough."
Drew Larson led with a 16 point, 17 rebound double-double, Preston Condie added 13 points and Tate Monroe added 12 as the final Trapper in double figures.
Tessi Thong had four assists to lead Northwest and Larson added three steals.
Western Nebraska shot 34-66 (51.5%) from the field while Northwest shot 23-64 (35.9%), both teams struggled at the free throw line as the Cougars went 8-14 (57.1%) and the Trappers went 16-28 (57.1%).
The Cougars went on to fall in the semifinal to host Gillette, while Trinidad State won its fourth straight Region IX Tournament title on Saturday.
"You always want to hope for more, it was a great group to coach," Ward said. "They stuck together, played together and worked hard. They were a pleasure to coach because they tried to do what we wanted them to do. They were coachable."
OUTGOING SOPHOMORES AND RETURNERS
Northwest will now say goodbye to six sophomores who received significant experience these past two seasons in Larson, Condie, Thong, Colin Hayes, Kaden Christensen and Carter Clark.
Those six include the top five Trapper scorers and a group that saw significant starting experience this season.
"We lose six sophomores that were contributing, there's some guys at starting minutes, some guys that came off the bench, but quite a few minutes, quite a bit of experience," Ward said. "We'll miss them."
Behind those sophomores the Trappers roster a number of freshmen who are eligible to return, including a group of redshirts who Ward is hopeful to return next year. Along with a fresh batch of recruits they will help take the Trappers further in the postseason.
"I think we return quite a lot," Ward said. "Factor in our redshirt crew, they've been around the program, so it's not going to be foreign to them when we get into practice next year. A good nucleus returning, these sophomores did a really good job for the program."
Ward said it's been positive for the Trappers to be in the final eight these past two seasons, but "now we need to take another step forward."
WESTERN NEBRASKA 86, NORTHWEST 67
Total rebounds then offensive rebounds in ()
Points — Drew Larson 16, Preston Condie 13, Tate Monroe 12, Colin Hayes 7, Trey Rinn 6, Eli Patterson 2, Ruben Bos 1, Tessi Thong 1
Rebounds — Drew Larson 17 (7), Trey Rinn 5 (2), Kaden Christensen 4, Preston Condie 3 (1), Ruben Bos 3, Colin Hayes 2, Tessi Thong 1, Carter Clark 1, Eli Patterson 1 (1)
Assists — Tessi Thong 4, Trey Rinn 3, Drew Larson 2, Preston Condie 1, Colin Hayes 1, Kaden Christensen 1
Steals — Drew Larson 3, Trey Rinn 1, Colin Hayes 1, Tate Monroe 1, Eli Patterson 1
Blocks — Tessi Thong 1