TWIN FALLS, Idaho – It's been a rollercoaster of a season for the Yavapai College men's basketball team and the Roughriders have played just three games so far. A statement victory on Thursday followed by a tough loss on Friday paved the way for an important tilt on Saturday afternoon as YC had its sights set on leaving Idaho with two wins rather than two losses. 

And the Roughriders did just that against the Northwest College Trappers, prevailing with a dramatic 80-77 final in a game that saw YC lose a 17-point lead and redeem itself on sophomore guard Ray Glasgow's game-winning three pointer with 1.8 seconds left on the clock. 

"I'm very pleased with our team's ability to stick together and pull out today's victory," Head Coach Kevon Davis said after the win. 

The Roughriders indeed had to stick together as they watched a couple of big leads dwindle in each half on Saturday afternoon. 

After a Glasgow three put YC up 33-16 with 4:40 left to play in the first half, the Trappers closed out the first with a 15-8 run and YC headed into the break with a 10-point lead at 41-31. 

After halftime, disaster struck for the Roughriders as they were outscored 12-0 in the first five minutes of the period and trailed 43-41, their first time trailing since the first five minutes of the game. 

For the next 10 minutes, the teams went back-and-forth with neither squad leading by more than four points until another furious Trapper comeback attempt. 

With 6:48 left in the game, Northwest trailed 65-61. Three minutes and 20 seconds later, a 13-0 run from the Trappers gave them a 74-65 lead with 3:28 left to play. 

From there, Glasgow's clutch gene began to lead the Roughriders down the stretch. He hit a pair of free throws after being fouled and was fouled once more on the next possession while getting the basket to fall. After his free throw completed the three-point play, his 5-0 run brought the score to 74-70 with just under three minutes left to play. 

On the next two YC possessions (paired with a couple of defensive stops), freshman guard Nadir Myers hit from downtown and fellow freshman guard Khalil O'Bannon slammed one home to give YC a 75-74 lead with 2:12 left to go. 

YC's 10-0 run took just 76 seconds off the clock and was met with resistance from the Trappers in Saturday afternoon's wild seesaw battle. 

Northwest tightened up their defense and also scored the next three points, all on free throws, to take a 77-75 lead with 48 seconds to play. 

Unfortunately for the Trappers, too much time was left on the clock and Glasgow owned the clutch gene on Saturday. 

Glasgow drove and hit the game-tying layup with 41 seconds on the clock to bring the score to 77-77. After a stop on Northwest's possession, Glasgow brought the ball up the court, watched the clock run down to under five seconds, measured up his shot and drilled the aforementioned game-winning three pointer with 1.8 seconds left on the clock. 

Northwest, out of timeouts, desperately inbounded the ball and heaved up a long shot that wouldn't go, clinching the victory for YC. 

RAY GLASGOW GAME WINNER ???? The Roughriders defeat Northwest 80-77 today and finish the weekend with a 2-1 record ?? #GoRiders pic.twitter.com/P2n8Hzy4lX

— Yavapai College Men's Basketball (@YCMBasketball) November 5, 2023

Glasgow led all scorers with 25 points and tied for the team lead in three-pointers with three and led the team in free throws with six makes in six attempts. Overall, YC knocked down 14 three-pointers and went 14-17 from the line. 

Three Roughriders joined Glasgow in double-digit scoring: sophomore guard Kieran Carr had 17 and went 5-of-6 from the line, Myers had 11 and knocked down a trio of three-pointers and O'Bannon had 10 while going 3-for-3 from the line. 

Up Next
The Roughriders return to Prescott this weekend, before heading back to Twin Falls next weekend for three more games.