Kicking off the season in Casper the Northwest College men’s basketball team competed in two close games, defeating Air Force Prep 85-81 in overtime after a late rally before falling to North Idaho College 86-77 after a close contest was sealed by late free throws.

NORTHWEST 85, AIR FORCE PREP 81 (OT)

Starting out the season the Trappers (1-1) took on the Air Force Prep team and looked to start on the right foot.

Midway through the first half the Trappers overcame an early eight point deficit, and remained in striking distance down 19-16.

Northwest continued to keep it close throughout the first half but was unable to take the lead as the Trappers trailed 34-31 at halftime.

“At halftime I challenged the guys to do a better job on the glass, and they did,” coach Andy Ward said.

Early in the second half the Trappers briefly took the lead, but Air Force Prep responded with a strong run to push its lead back out to 49-40.

Throughout much of the second half the Trappers continued to trail between 7-10 points.

Then a quick 6-0 run capped off by a Drew Larson layup cut the lead down to a single point as Northwest trailed 64-63 with five minutes left.

After a timeout Larson tied the contest at the free throw line, but Air Force reclaimed the lead as Northwest searched for an answer once again.

Air Force pushed the lead to 74-70 with a minute left, but a putback by Larson and a floater by Tessi Thong with 10 seconds left tied the game at 74.

Air Force missed its final shot attempt and Colin Hayes missed a layup just before the buzzer to win it and the contest went to overtime.

“We got some stops and we turned them over a little bit,” Ward said. 

In the extra session the Trappers scored the first six points and held Air Force scoreless for the first four minutes before a foul on a 3-pointer.

The Trappers sealed the game at the line down the stretch to earn an 85-81 win to start the season.

Larson led with 25 points and eight rebounds, Thong, Preston Condie and Hayes each had 12 points while Hayes had eight rebounds.

“Drew had a really good game,” Ward said. “He was very efficient from the floor.”

Thong led with eight assists and tied for the team lead with two steals alongside Larson.

NORTH IDAHO 86, NORTHWEST 77

After the opening win the Trappers turned their attention to Saturday against the Cardinals (1-1), hoping to start the season 2-0 for the first time in two years.

Northwest started out the first half strong, holding a 24-17 lead midway through the first half.

North Idaho trimmed into the lead, and overtook the Trappers just before halftime to lead 44-42.

The Cardinals carried their momentum into the second half, building as much as a double digit lead and leading 63-55 midway through.

“They [North Idaho] can really get after you defensively,” Ward said. “I was pleased to see us take as good care of the ball as we did.”

The lead swelled to as many as 15, before the Trappers started cutting into the lead and brought it as close as 73-69 with six minutes left.

Northwest continued to keep it close, staying within a possession at 80-77 with a minute left.

Late free throws by North Idaho helped reach the final margin, as the Trappers fell 86-77.

Northwest shot 36.6% as a team for the contest, but committed only seven turnovers.

“We did not shoot the ball well,” Ward said. “It’s hard to win games when you shoot that poorly.”

One of the major differences came in rebounding as North idaho won that battle 48-31.

Thong and Tate Monroe had 15 points each, while Hayes and Larson had 13 and 12 points respectively.

Thong added seven assists while Monroe led with four steals.

BUSY WEEK

The Northwest men now start a busy week where the Trappers will play two games on the road before returning home next week for their first home game of the season.

The Trappers head to Riverton to take part in the Rustler Classic Tournament, taking on the Utah Rebels at 3:30 p.m. on Friday.

Northwest then turns around to take on a top team in the country, Salt Lake Community College, at noon on Saturday, with the Bruins (1-1) ranked No. 7 in the initial NJCAA rankings.

The Trappers will return home to play for the first time this season on Tuesday night, returning to Cabre Gym to take on Miles Community College (2-1) at 7:30 p.m.

“We played 11 guys over the weekend, and I’ll play 11 or 12 most likely this weekend and even into our home opener against Miles on Tuesday,” Ward said. “Early on we’ve got to be more focused on us and just taking care of the rebounding and continue to take care of the ball — we’ve got to get better offensively.”

NORTHWEST 85, AIR FORCE PREP 81 (OT)

Total rebounds then offensive rebounds in ()

Points — Drew Larson 25, Tessi Thong 12, Preston Condie 12, Colin Hayes 12, Tate Monroe 9, Ruben Bos 8, Kaden Christensen 5, Eli Patterson 2

Rebounds — Drew Larson 8 (2), Colin Hayes 8 (2), Tessi Thong 7 (2), Eli Patterson 4 (2), Kaden Christensen 3 (2), Tate Monroe 3, Carter Clark 3, Ruben Bos 3 (1), Preston Condie 2, R’Zha Whittle 1

Assists — Tessi Thong 8, Drew Larson 3, Kaden Christensen 2, Eli Patterson 2, Colin Hayes 1

Steals — Tessi Thong 2, Drew Larson 2, Preston Condie 1, Colin Hayes 1, Tate Monroe 1, Eli Patterson 1

Blocks — Tessi Thong 1, Drew Larson 1, Ruben Bos 1

NORTH IDAHO 86, NORTHWEST 77

Points — Tessi Thong 15, Tate Monroe 15, Colin Hayes 13, Drew Larson 12, Preston Condie 5, Eli Patterson 5, Ruben Bos 5, Kaden Christensen 4, Carter Clark 3

Rebounds — Tessi Thong 5 (1), Drew Larson 5 (2), Ruben Bos 5, Kaden Christensen 4 (1), Preston Condie 3 (1), Colin Hayes 3, Tate Monroe 1, Trey Rinn 1 (1), Eli Patterson 1 (1), R’Zha Whittle 1 (1)

Assists — Tessi Thong 7, Drew Larson 2, Tate Monroe 2, Kaden Christensen 1, Carter Clark 1, Ruben Bos 1

Steals — Tate Monroe 4, Tessi Thong 3, Kaden Christensen 1, Drew Larson 1, Carter Clark 1

Blocks — Ruben Bos 2, Colin Hayes 1, R’Zha Whittle 1