The men's basketball team at Northwest College moved into the top spot in the North Sub-Region standings Tuesday night with a 70-56, road victory over Miles (Mont.) Community College.With the win, NWC now controls its own destiny as far as earning a No. 1 seed for the Region IX Tournament in early March. The Trappers have three sub-region contests remaining, and two of those will be played at Hank Cabre Gymnasium on the NWC campus. “This was a big win for us,” said NWC head coach Andy Ward. “We struggled shooting the ball in the first half and actually trailed by two points at halftime. But in the second half, we did a better job offensively, and we continued to do a good job on the defensive end.“Now we're in a position to earn a No. 1 seed for the tournament. We control our own fate at this point, so we're not having to figure out a lot of different scenarios that would put us in that position. We just have to take care of business and keep winning our sub-region games.” The Trappers (12-11, 4-1 North Sub-Region), who connected on just 26 percent of their shots from the field in the first half, entered halftime trailing 28-26. However, they were able to overcome that deficit with an improved offensive performance in the final 20 minutes of the game. During that stretch, the Trappers hit near the 40-percent mark on their field-goal attempts. They also made solid use of their trips to the free-throw line, particularly late in the game. Overall, NWC hit 23 of 28 free throws. “We didn't shoot a lot better in the second half, but we were able to do a better job than we did during the first 20 minutes,” Ward said. During the first 30 minutes, NWC and MCC exchanged the lead 10 times and were tied on seven different occasions. After that stretch, NWC held the Pioneers to a one-for-seven shooting clip for four minutes and claimed a double-digit lead. The Trappers outscored MCC 44-28 in the second half, including a 30-12 run during the final 10 minutes. And whereas the Trappers found more offensive success as the game progressed, the Pioneers continued to struggle and finished with a 21-of-70 effort. MCC also failed to capitalize on opportunities at the free-throw line, where they hit just eight of 17 shots.Leading the way for the Trappers was point guard Julian Olubuyi, who enjoyed a solid all-around performance. The sophomore finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. Olubuyi was one of three Trappers to notch a double-double during the game. Ricardo Bodra and Casper Hesseldal were the others to accomplish that feat. Bodra finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Hesseldal added 10 points and 10 rebounds. “The guys were really attacking the boards,” Ward said. “To have three guys finish with double-digit rebounding totals was pretty impressive, and we almost had a fourth. As a team, we outrebounded them 52-37.”The Trapper who almost became the fourth with 10 or more rebounds was Mitchell Ackelson. He came up with nine rebounds to go along with eight points. Others scoring for NWC were Jordan Harris (11 points), Cody Ball (7) and Anthony Harris (4).The Pioneers (14-9 overall, 3-3 North Sub-Region) were led by Trent Fildes (16 points) and Darnell Maze (11 points). Maze also grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.• Up next: The Trappers' next contest will be in Riverton against Central Wyoming College Friday at 7:30 p.m. On Friday, Feb. 13, NWC will be on the road for a sub-region matchup against Little Big Horn College in Montana.

The men's basketball team at Northwest College moved into the top spot in the North Sub-Region standings Tuesday night with a 70-56, road victory over Miles (Mont.) Community College.

With the win, NWC now controls its own destiny as far as earning a No. 1 seed for the Region IX Tournament in early March. The Trappers have three sub-region contests remaining, and two of those will be played at Hank Cabre Gymnasium on the NWC campus.

“This was a big win for us,” said NWC head coach Andy Ward. “We struggled shooting the ball in the first half and actually trailed by two points at halftime. But in the second half, we did a better job offensively, and we continued to do a good job on the defensive end.

“Now we're in a position to earn a No. 1 seed for the tournament. We control our own fate at this point, so we're not having to figure out a lot of different scenarios that would put us in that position. We just have to take care of business and keep winning our sub-region games.”

The Trappers (12-11, 4-1 North Sub-Region), who connected on just 26 percent of their shots from the field in the first half, entered halftime trailing 28-26. However, they were able to overcome that deficit with an improved offensive performance in the final 20 minutes of the game. During that stretch, the Trappers hit near the 40-percent mark on their field-goal attempts. They also made solid use of their trips to the free-throw line, particularly late in the game. Overall, NWC hit 23 of 28 free throws.

“We didn't shoot a lot better in the second half, but we were able to do a better job than we did during the first 20 minutes,” Ward said.

During the first 30 minutes, NWC and MCC exchanged the lead 10 times and were tied on seven different occasions. After that stretch, NWC held the Pioneers to a one-for-seven shooting clip for four minutes and claimed a double-digit lead. The Trappers outscored MCC 44-28 in the second half, including a 30-12 run during the final 10 minutes.

And whereas the Trappers found more offensive success as the game progressed, the Pioneers continued to struggle and finished with a 21-of-70 effort. MCC also failed to capitalize on opportunities at the free-throw line, where they hit just eight of 17 shots.

Leading the way for the Trappers was point guard Julian Olubuyi, who enjoyed a solid all-around performance. The sophomore finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. Olubuyi was one of three Trappers to notch a double-double during the game. Ricardo Bodra and Casper Hesseldal were the others to accomplish that feat. Bodra finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Hesseldal added 10 points and 10 rebounds.

“The guys were really attacking the boards,” Ward said. “To have three guys finish with double-digit rebounding totals was pretty impressive, and we almost had a fourth. As a team, we outrebounded them 52-37.”

The Trapper who almost became the fourth with 10 or more rebounds was Mitchell Ackelson. He came up with nine rebounds to go along with eight points.

Others scoring for NWC were Jordan Harris (11 points), Cody Ball (7) and Anthony Harris (4).

The Pioneers (14-9 overall, 3-3 North Sub-Region) were led by Trent Fildes (16 points) and Darnell Maze (11 points). Maze also grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.

• Up next: The Trappers' next contest will be in Riverton against Central Wyoming College Friday at 7:30 p.m. On Friday, Feb. 13, NWC will be on the road for a sub-region matchup against Little Big Horn College in Montana.