A physical back and forth contest tested the Northwest College men’s basketball team on Tuesday night, but a strong effort at the free throw line helped the Trappers finish with a 91-87 win over visiting Miles Community College.

NORTHWEST 91, MILES CC 87

Kicking off the new year the Trappers (7-9) remained at Cabre Gym, hoping to get revenge for an earlier 59-58 loss to the Pioneers (9-7) in November.

Early on both teams held leads, before Northwest went up 13-10 after a Will Hemme 3-pointer with just under 14 minutes left, a lead the Trappers would not relinquish.

Northwest used that advantage to grow the lead over the next couple of minutes up to 17-10.

Miles battled back into the contest and cut it to 22-20 with 9:22 left in the half.

Northwest had a strong response, building the lead back to 33-24 with just under seven minutes left behind strong shooting by Drew Larson.

The lead fluctuated without reaching double-digits, but the Trappers held strong and took a 46-38 lead into the locker room.

“I thought we played some good offensive basketball in the first half,” coach Andy Ward said. “We took care of the ball, but we missed some easy shots … I was not happy with our defensive execution.”

Miles started out the second half strong, cutting the lead down to 48-45 just two minutes in.

A strong stretch by Colin Hayes answered to push the lead back to 54-47, and a 3-pointer by Krue Stubbs pushed the advantage to 57-47 just over four into the half.

The Pioneers once again responded, cutting the lead down to 60-55 over a quick two minute stretch.

Northwest responded and rebuilt a double-digit lead, and got better news after hitting the double-bonus with 11 minutes left in the game.

Unfortunately, slow rotations defensively led to open shots for the visitors, with the Pioneers taking advantage and cutting into the lead.

“Our help defense was nonexistent a lot of times,” Ward said.

The Trappers held the visitors at arms’ length, maintaining the lead at 80-73 with 5:30 left.

A quick response by Miles cut the lead down to a single point, but charges taken by Kolter Merritt in the second half kept Northwest ahead.

Late in the game, free throws proved to be the difference with Northwest unable to find many field goals.

Northwest held an 86-81 lead with 1:20 left, and a technical was called on Miles due to calling too many timeouts which led to a dispute late in the game and after the contest.

The Trappers continued to take advantage of free throws, sealing it with a free throw by Tessi Thong to make the final 91-87.

Merritt led with 17 points and eight rebounds, Larson also had 17 points, Hayes had 16 points and Hemme had 11 as the fourth Trapper in double-figures.

Northwest dominated the contest at the free throw line, scoring 12 more points than the visitors while shooting 28-31 (90.3%) in the game.

“We won the battle at the free throw line,” Ward said. “At the end of the day it was a great team win and team effort. I wish we would have been better defensively.”

The Trappers saw the debut of freshmen Isaiah Halverson and Thong, who didn’t play in the first semester following a legal incident in September. The cases against them are still pending.

“Basketball is like life, there are mistakes out there,” Ward said. “We use the acronym NBA (Next Best Action) in our program … Our program is about trying to develop young men. Those guys have the right attitude. They’ve been fighting through a lot of adversity in their lives and I’m proud of them for the way they have handled things.”

FINAL NON-CONFERENCE GAMES

Northwest will stay at home for one last set of games in a nine-game homestand, wrapping up non-conference action at Cabre Gym this weekend.

That will start with a game against the Rocky Mountain JV on Friday at 7:30 p.m., with Northwest attempting to complete the season sweep after a 71-66 win in November.

The Trappers will then take on Jump Start Academy on Saturday at noon, before heading on the road to start Region IX action next Friday and Saturday in Rock Springs and Casper.

NORTHWEST 91, MILES CC 87

Total rebounds then offensive rebounds in ()

Points — Kolter Merritt 17, Drew Larson 17, Colin Hayes 16, Will Hemme 11, Tessi Thong 9, Isaiah Halverson 8, Krue Stubbs 6, Milton Rodriguez Santana 5, Max Postiglione 2

Rebounds — Kolter Merritt 8 (2), Colin Hayes 6 (5), Drew Larson 5 (3), Milton Rodriguez Santana 5 (4), Krue Stubbs 4, Tessi Thong 3 (1), Carter Clark 2 (1), Isaiah Halverson 2 (1)

Assists — Colin Hayes 2, Isaiah Halverson 2, Kolter Merritt 1, Krue Stubbs 1

Steals — Drew Larson 3, Colin Hayes 3, Carter Clark 2, Will Hemme 1, Milton Rodriguez Santana 1

Blocks — Kolter Merritt 2