Second-half rally propels NWC squad to share of Region IX lead

The Northwest College Trappers snapped a two-game skid to rally past No. 20 Western Wyoming 82-71 in Region IX North men’s basketball action. The victory lifts the Trappers into a four-way tie atop the North division standings.”

“It’s pretty crazy,” Northwest College head coach Andy Ward said of the Region IX North standings, which shows seven teams clustered within one game of each other after the results of the past week. “It has turned into exactly what we thought it would at this point. It’s a dog fight every night.”

Through the first half of Saturday’s game, Western had the better dogs. The visiting Mustangs knocked down better than 53 percent of their shots in the first half and carried a 44-39 lead into the locker room at halftime.

“We really challenged them at the half to play better defense,” Ward said. “Both our losses, the common theme had been that our opponents had shot for a really high percentage. We felt like we needed to get the defense going so that it creates some offensive chances for us.”

The Trappers answered that challenge in a big way, holding Western to just 6-for-27 shooting after the break. After watching the Mustangs hit seven of their 13 3-point attempts in the first half, Northwest locked down on the perimeter and allowed just 25 percent shooting from 3-point range in the second half.

Meanwhile, the Trappers’ offense cruised. Chris Hansen led the way with 28 points to outdistance all scorers in the game. Konner Frey added 19 points while Jeffrey Solarin added to his double-double count for the year, getting 10 points and 10 rebounds.

“We had asked Konner to be more active and attack the basket rather than living out at the 3-point line like he had the last few games, and he was a totally different player,” said Ward. “He played great. He got on the glass and attacked the bucket off the dribble.”

The Trappers also faced Miles on Wednesday and got off to a strong start, leading by as many as 14 points in the first half and holding an eight-point cushion at halftime. The second half was all Miles though, as the Montana school struck for 53 points against the Trappers’ defense.

“As you know, a game can just change sometimes,” Ward said. “That was one of those times. Everything seemed to go their way. The ball started bouncing their way when it was loose. It started bouncing in when they shot.”

Part of that change, the Trappers’ coach admitted, was his team not executing its defensive gameplan in the second half.

“The key to Miles is making them live on the perimeter,” Ward said. “That’s where we wanted them to have to play, and we didn’t do that. You look at the shots they took in the second half and almost every one of them was in the lane.”

Hansen again finished the game as Northwest’s leading scorer, netting 21 points. Solarin added 18 points while Junior Coleman knocked down 17.

Northwest, 16-4 overall and 4-2 in Region IX North play, travels to Gillette on Wednesday. Gillette is one of three teams with which the Trappers currently share the Region IX North lead. Sheridan and Miles also hold 4-2 division records.

On Thursday, Northwest travels to Glendive, Mont., to face Dawson.

Northwest 82, W. Wyoming 71

Jeffrey Solarin 10, Junior Coleman 9, Konner Frey 19, Chris Hansen 28, Diego Pasos 8, Ty Ackelson 5, Pietro De Andrade 3.

Miles 84, Northwest 70

Jeffrey Solarin 18, Junior Coleman 17, Konner Frey 5, Chris Hansen 21, Diego Pasos 1, Ty Ackelson 4, Zach Stanley 2, Pietro de Andrade 2.