Avoiding disaster

Big Bend holds off late Walla Walla run to secure win

MOSES LAKE - After blowing a 12-point lead at halftime, the Big Bend Runnin' Vikings started over and ran the score back up to a 15-point lead over Walla Walla.

The Warriors cut Big Bend's lead to 67-66 with 8:41 left in the second half, before sparking a 13-4 run over the next four minutes to build a 10-point advantage that resulted in a 90 75 win for the Runnin' Vikings.

Chris Pendleton scored 27 points and dished out seven assists in the win. Jeff Coffman added 19 points and 10 rebounds for Big Bend.

"Chris has been playing really well," said Big Bend head coach Mark Poth. "He has been hampered by a bad ankle and this is typical Pendleton basketball."

Zach Danelson kept Walla Walla in the game with 21 points and 12-of-14 shooting from the free-throw line, but the Warriors' leading scorer fouled out with 1:42 left in the second half.

Walla Walla had three starters foul out of the game, forcing the Warriors to rely on its bench with four minutes left in the game and the Runnin' Vikings hitting an 11-2 run.

"It was a nice run when we needed a run," Poth added.

Brandon Lange, former Moses Lake High School basketball player, gave the Warriors a 14 12 lead with 14:07 remaining in the first half, quickly erased by a Brandon Nielsen to put Big Bend back on top 15-14. From there, Pendleton hit two buckets and Coffman went 2-for-4 from the free throw line to give Big Bend a 25-17 lead.

Robert Commer hit two 3-pointers from the exact same spot to cut the lead back down to 29-26. Bryce Pendleton scored all of his seven points at the end of the first half, lifting the Runnin' Vikings to a 50-38 lead.

Starting the second half, Paul Hautzinger took advantage of Coffman, who was in foul trouble with three fouls, with six points in the first five minutes to close Big Bend's lead to 59-53.

Danelson came out of a Big Bend timeout and hit seven straight free throws to bring Walla Walla within one point of the Runnin' Vikings lead, then had two opportunities to regain the lead. But after two missed shots, Big Bend went on an 11-2 run to build a 10-point lead.

Poth said the Runnin' Vikings played 30 minutes of good basketball and the other 10 minutes allowed the Warriors to get back in the game.

"You are going to have that and I am pleased that when they cut it to one, we didn't fold up tent," Poth said.