Your future, our focus
The Northwest College men’s basketball team came home from a grueling three-game stretch through Montana and North Dakota with a losing record on the weekend — losing to Dawson Community College 83-74 and United Tribes Technical College 94-92 before defeating Bismarck State 69-63.
DAWSON 83, NORTHWEST 74Starting out the weekend the Trappers (13-7) matched up with one of their most recent opponents in the Buccaneers (12-4) who defeated Northwest 65-62 on Dec. 15.
Early on neither team was able to gain a significant advantage, with the two teams remaining tied at 11 after six minutes of play.
Northwest won the battle over the next 10 minutes, holding a six point lead with 4:34 remaining in the first half.
Dawson clamped down on the Trappers, not allowing them to pull away and finished the half on a 12-1 run to take a 32-27 lead into the locker room.
The Buccaneers used that momentum out of the locker room and opened up an eight point advantage, before the Trappers closed the gap to 41-40.
The Buccaneers then pushed the lead back out to two possessions, not allowing Northwest to take back the lead.
A run in the middle of the half helped Dawson take control of the contest, pushing the lead out to as many as 14 through strong rebounding.
Northwest closed the gap down to single digits with two minutes remaining, but could not make a large enough run to make the game close with Dawson walking away with a 83-74 victory.
Despite shooting nearly 50% as a team from the field, Northwest gave up 10 offensive rebounds and finished with 19 turnovers.
“Rebounding and turnovers were an issue for us, we just didn’t play with an edge,” coach Andy Ward said. “They had a lot of putbacks and a lot of easy shots off second chances.”
Davion McAdam led Northwest with 27 points and six rebounds while Juan Pablo Camargo Tellez and Yannice Nlend both finished with 12 points.
UNITED TRIBES 94, NORTHWEST 92After the loss Friday the Trappers hopped from Glendive, Montana, to Bismarck, North Dakota, hoping to earn their first win of 2023 against United Tribes (9-4).
Northwest defeated United Tribes during the Miles Community College Classic 93-90 on Nov. 25, and looked to complete the season sweep on Saturday.
The Trappers came out strong opening with a 7-2 lead after the first three minutes.
Over the next five minutes the Thunderbirds went on a 14-0 run before a Will Hemme 3-pointer broke up the run to make it 16-10.
After gaining the lead the Thunderbirds maintained a two possession lead until Northwest closed the gap over the next eight minutes to make it a 37-35 game with 4:28 left.
Despite closing the gap Northwest was unable to regain the lead, heading into the locker room trailing 46-41.
The Trappers committed 12 turnovers in the first half.
United Tribes continued to maintain at least a two possession lead, until Northwest went on a 7-0 run to tie the game at 62 just under midway through the half.
The Thunderbirds responded with their own 7-0 run, regaining control of the game.
That lead continued to hold, until a late Northwest run tied the game at 83 with under four minutes remaining, and the Trappers took their first lead since the first half 85-84 with 3:00 left.
Both teams continued to battle and exchange the lead, when United Tribes opened up a 3-point lead after a pair of free throws.
A quick race up to the other end of the floor and a 3-pointer by Hemme tied the contest at 92 with 22 seconds left.
A foul on the Thunderbirds’ final possession sent Famous Lefthand to the free throw line, and he sank both to give United Tribes the lead.
“On that last defensive possession I could have done something differently,” Ward said. “Offensively we had four seconds to go the length of the court, I had a play call and in hindsight if I had to do it over again I’d do something different to try and get a better shot.”
One final shot for Northwest was blocked, and the Trappers were sent to their second consecutive loss.
Camargo Tellez led the Trappers with 19, McAdam finished with 18, Hemme finished with 16 and David Ayala was the other player in double figures with 14.
NORTHWEST 69, BISMARCK STATE 63Finishing off the weekend in Bismarck, the Trappers looked to reverse their fortune against Bismarck State (4-9).
After taking a 1-0 lead, the Trappers stumbled over the remainder of the first half — trailing by as many as 17 points with 3:47 left.
“This was a similar game to Otero when we dug ourselves a hole early,” Ward said. “We battled back.”
A small run to end the half cut the lead down to 39-30 for the Mystics, heading into a key second half in the Trappers final non-conference action.
Bismarck State continued to hold the lead and pushed it back out to double digits at 44-33 before a quick 11-2 run cut the lead down to one possession with 12:41 left.
Despite the run, Northwest was unable to regain the lead until a layup by McAdam gave the Trappers a 59-58 lead with 5:57 remaining.
Both teams battled back and forth until Bismarck State gained the lead at 63-62, the final points of the game for the Mystics.
“I give our guys credit, they kept working, didn’t quit and just chipped away,” Ward said.
Northwest took the lead with one minute left, and finished it with a fast break layup and free throws to seal the 69-63 come-from-behind victory.
McAdam led Northwest with 25 points and Ayala finished with 12 points as the only double-digit scorers.
TWO WEEK BREAKNorthwest will now take the next two weeks to regroup, rest and prepare for its Region IX opener on Jan. 21.
“We gotta refine some things,” Ward said. “Improve our offensive execution, focus on defending and rebounding while taking care of the basketball.”
That game will be in Cabre Gym against Casper College (13-4) at 4 p.m.
DAWSON 83, NORTHWEST 74Offensive rebounds in ()Points — Davion McAdam 27, Juan Pablo Camargo Tellez 12, Yannice Nlend 12, Christian Adun 7, Mack Page 4, Andre Loigu 3, Brash Emery 3, Kolter Merritt 3, David Ayala 2, Will Hemme 1Rebounds — Davion McAdam 6, David Ayala 4 (2), Christian Adun 4 (1), Juan Pablo Camargo Tellez 3 (1), Yannice Nlend 3 (1), Andre Loigu 1, Will Hemme 1 (1), Mack Page 1 (1)Assists — Davion McAdam 4, Yannice Nlend 3, David Ayala 2, Will Hemme 2, Mack Page 1Steals — Juan Pablo Camargo Tellez 2, Andre Loigu 1, David Ayala 1, Will Hemme 1, Christian Adun 1
UNITED TRIBES 94, NORTHWEST 92Points — Juan Pablo Camargo Tellez 19, Davion McAdam 18, Will Hemme 16, David Ayala 14, Yannice Nlend 8, Mack Page 6, Christian Adun 4, Andre Loigu 3, Brash Emery 2, Kolter Merritt 2\Rebounds — David Ayala 9, Davion McAdam 8 (1), Yannice Nlend 5 (1), Juan Pablo Camargo Tellez 4 (3), Mack Page 3 (2), Will Hemme 2, Brash Emery 2, Christian Adun 2 (1), Kolter Merritt 2 (1), Andre Loigu 1Assists — Yannice Nlend 6, Juan Pablo Camargo Tellez 4, Will Hemme 3, David Ayala 2, Brash Emery 2, Mack Page 2, Kolter Merritt 2, Davion McAdam 1, Andre Loigu 1Steals — Yannice Nlend 2, Brash Emery 2, Juan Pablo Camargo Tellez 1Blocks — Kolter Merritt 1
NORTHWEST 69, BISMARCK STATE 63Points — Davion McAdam 25, David Ayala 12, Kolter Merritt 7, Brash Emery 6, Christian Adun 5, Juan Pablo Camargo Tellez 4, Yannice Nlend 4, Mack Page 4, Will Hemme 2Rebounds — Yannice Nlend 9 (1), Davion McAdam 8 (2), Kolter Merritt 5 (4), David Ayala 4, Juan Pablo Camargo Tellez 3 (1), Mack Page 3 (1), Christian Adun 3 (1), Will Hemme 2, Andre Loigu 1, Brash Emery 1 (1)Assists — Yannice Nlend 4, Davion McAdam 3, Brash Emery 2, Mack Page 1Steals — Christian Adun 2, Davion McAdam 1, David Ayala 1, Yannice Nlend 1, Mack Page 1Blocks — David Ayala 1, Yannice Nlend 1