An extra week to rest and prepare has the Northwest College men’s basketball team heading to Casper for the Region IX quarterfinals on Thursday, matching up with Lamar Community College at 1 p.m. at Casper College.

“This last week we didn’t know who we were playing so we worked on us,” coach Andy Ward said. “We worked hard in the weight room, did some [plyometrics] and did a lot of conditioning.”

Ward said the team continued practice through Saturday, then Sunday his attention focused on scouting and breaking down film for Lamar.

This is not the first time  NWC and Lamar have met this season, with the Trappers defeating the Lopes in Riverton in November.

That game finished 74-60 at the Central Wyoming College tournament, as the Trappers were led by Yannis Nlend with 24 points in the victory during the fifth game of the season.

Since that game was so long ago, Ward knows this game will have some similarities but will be mostly different from the first matchup.

“They are different now and we are too,” Ward said. “There are some things that are consistent with their personnel. It’s hard to go back to that game and make adjustments because there have been a lot of games played since then.”

The Trappers (19-10) head in as the No. 2 seed from the north, while the Lopes (11-19) come in as the No. 5 seed from the south after defeating Northeastern 66-63 on Saturday.

Northwest comes into the game with a 7-3 record in its last 10 games despite dropping two of its last three, while Lamar comes in with a 5-5 record and on a four game winning streak.

Both teams come in with three players averaging double digits in scoring.

Northwest boasts the second leading scorer in all of Region IX, Davion McAdam, who is averaging 22 points per game. Juan Pablo Camargo is the Trappers’ second leading scorer averaging 11.6 points per game, just ahead of Nlend who averages 11.

Lamar features two top scorers, with Kris Cook averaging 18 points per game and DeAngelo Horn averaging 17.6. Bryson Stevens is the third leading scorer for the Lopes at 12.9 points per game.

Ward said the Trappers are going to focus on ensuring that the Lopes have to beat them in the halfcourt, by focusing on getting back in transition while also rebounding and taking care of the basketball.

Both teams post similar numbers offensively, with Northwest averaging 80 points in 29 contests while Lamar averages 78.1 in 30.

Northwest boasts a slightly better defensive rating, giving up 74.4 points while Lamar gives up 78.

All games will take place at Casper College. All games can be streamed on the Casper College Athletics YouTube page.