TRAPPER MEN FALL IN SEMIFINALS

BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune

Without their leading scorer and one of the top scoring options off the bench, the Northwest College men's basketball team came up just short of making the Region IX Championship Game in Sterling, Colorado.
The Trappers defeated North Platte Community College 76-74 on Thursday before losing late against eventual Region IX champion Trinidad State College 73-72.
"I was really proud of our guys and the way they responded," coach Andy Ward said. "We didn't have Mateo [Trujillo] and we didn't have Theran [Archibald]. So we had to have guys step up … All of our guys, they stepped up. Not having your starting point guard out there, it's not an easy transition, but our guys did a good job."        

NORTHWEST 76, NORTH PLATTE CC 74
Starting with the quarterfinals against a Region IX South opponent the Trappers (21-12) took on the Knights (18-13).
The Knights started strong and built a 7-2 lead early but Northwest chipped away and trailed 13-12 five minutes in after a Nayel Girard layup.
Northwest gained the lead and made it a 20-16 game with 10:40 left after a Trey Rinn 3-pointer.
The Trappers held their advantage most of the remainder of the first half, never leading by more than four as they led 36-32 at the break.
Northwest immediately stretched the lead out to nine after half, and held that lead four minutes in at 48-39 after another Rinn 3-pointer, part of his team high 18 points.
The Trappers pushed it to double-digits shortly after on another 3-pointer, this time from Tate Monroe, as Northwest went up 64-53 with nine minutes left after a Girard layup.
The lead hit as many as 15 at 68-53 with 6:32 remaining, before North Platte went on a 15-3 stretch in just over four minutes to trim it to a one possession game with two minutes left.
Northwest held on late, as North Platte had a shot to tie it at the buzzer but came up short with the Trappers earning the close 76-74 win.
"I thought we did a good job defensively. We held them to 35% shooting," Ward said. "We were able to extend our lead in the second half, then they went on a run and made it closer than it needed to be for sure."
Rinn led with 18, Logan Woolstenhulme had 14 while Girard added 13 points.
Woolstenhulme added 11 rebounds to complete a double-double, Eli Patterson led with eight assists, three Trappers recorded one steal while R'Zha Zha'Quire Whittle led with two blocks.     

TRINIDAD STATE 73, NORTHWEST 72
The win Thursday meant the Trappers advanced to take on the four-time defending champions in the Spartans (17-16), the No. 5 seed out of the south.
Both teams battled back-and-forth early in the contest, as the Trappers led 12-8 just over five minutes in after a Girard layup.
Northwest built the lead up to as many as eight and led 23-18 midway through after a pair of free throws by the Spartans.
Trinidad trimmed the lead and eventually tied the contest at 32 with 3:52 remaining, but Northwest did not allow the Spartans to take the lead and the Trappers held a 36-34 halftime lead.
In the second half the Spartans took the lead holding a 44-42 advantage five minutes in.
That lead swelled to as many as eight, but the Trappers trailed 52-47 midway through the half.
Northwest used a 17-6 stretch to take the lead and build it to 64-58 with 4:47 left in the game after a Whittle layup.
The Trappers continued to hold the lead, but the Spartans made a late charge and only trailed 72-71 with 35 seconds left.
Playing out the possession the Trappers continued holding the lead, before a steal by the Spartans with nine seconds left led to a dunk and gave Trinidad the lead with seven seconds on the clock. 
Northwest had a chance at a final shot, but Girard's shot was off as the Trappers fell 73-72 to end their season.
"Unfortunately we were one point shy in a one possession game in the semifinal," Ward said. "A lot of credit to Trinidad. They were playing really well. They made plays when they needed to … Something that came back to kind of bite us and something that we've struggled with all year was our free throw shooting … We struggled in both games. I was hoping we kind of turned a corner because we shot the ball really well from the free throw line against Western Nebraska."
Trinidad went on to win its fifth straight Region IX Tournament title over Lamar Community College.
Whittle led with 15 points, Woolstenhulme added 12, while Monroe, Girard and Braydon Bradshaw each had 10 points.
Patterson led with eight rebounds and tied for the team lead in assists with Girard with six.
Woolstenhulme led with two steals while Northwest had four players record a block.
Rinn and Monroe were named to the All-Tournament Team for their efforts.
"The character of this team is super high. I thought they showed a lot of resilience in the face of adversity," Ward said. "I know they all wish we could have gotten past it, but I was proud of them. I was proud of their year, proud of their development."       

OFFSEASON BEGINS
The Trappers now head into the offseason where they will see several players graduate, but will have plenty of talent eligible to return next season.
"We'll have individual meetings and kind of discuss everybody's goals and aspirations. Then figure out where the holes are on our team," Ward said. "I thought this year we played a tough schedule and I thought that really helped us. We were pretty battle tested going into league play. I thought it prepared us well, so I'd like to try to build a schedule for next year that challenges our team and prepares us for league play and Region IX Tournament play."      

NORTHWEST 76, NORTH PLATTE CC 74
Total rebounds then offensive rebounds in ()
Points — Trey Rinn 18, Logan Woolstenhulme 14, Nayel Girard 13, Tate Monroe 8, Braydon Bradshaw 8, R'Zha Zha'Quire Whittle 8, Eli Patterson 7
Rebounds — Logan Woolstenhulme 11 (3), Eli Patterson 7 (4), Nayel Girard 6 (1), Tate Monroe 3, Braydon Bradshaw 3, R'Zha Zha'Quire Whittle 3 (2)
Assists — Eli Patterson 8, Nayel Girard 5, Tate Monroe 4, Trey Rinn 2, Isaac Wolfe 1, Logan Woolstenhulme 1
Steals — Eli Patterson 1, Braydon Bradshaw 1, Logan Woolstenhulme 1
Blocks — R'Zha Zha'Quire Whittle 2, Nayel Girard 1     

TRINIDAD STATE 73, NORTHWEST 72
Points — R'Zha Zha'Quire Whittle 15, Logan Woolstenhulme 12, Tate Monroe 10, Nayel Girard 10, Braydon Bradshaw 10, Trey Rinn 9, Eli Patterson 6
Rebounds — Eli Patterson 8 (4), Nayel Girard 6 (2), Braydon Bradshaw 5 (2), Logan Woolstenhulme 4 (2), Tate Monroe 3 (1), R'Zha Zha'Quire Whittle 3 (1), Trey Rinn 2, Isaac Wolfe 1, Travis Theran Archibald 1
Assists — Nayel Girard 6, Eli Patterson 6, Tate Monroe 2, Trey Rinn 1, Braydon Bradshaw 1, Logan Woolstenhulme 1, R'Zha Zha'Quire Whittle 1
Steals — Logan Woolstenhulme 2, Tate Monroe 1, Trey Rinn 1, Eli Patterson 1
Blocks — Tate Monroe 1, Nayel Girard 1, Logan Woolstenhulme 1, R'Zha Zha'Quire Whittle 1