Brown, York lend a helping hand in Vikings' big win

Vikings 78, Pirates 72

MOSES LAKE - Wednesday's non-conference basketball game was as much about team play as any the Big Bend Vikings have played this season.

The Vikings got their usual star-studded performance from sophomore guard Daley Landon, but it was a pair of unheralded first-year players who played equally big roles.

Freshman post Hugh Brown tossed in 18 points and recent addition James York added 10 points and 12 assists as the Vikings (8-2) earned an impressive 78-72 victory over the Peninsula Pirates at DeVries Activity Center.

Add to that the seven points and 12 rebounds from Moses Lake native Kolby Secrist, and the game-high 24 points from Landon, and the Vikings had just enough to upend the fifth-ranked team in the Dec. 6 Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges' poll.

Brown, who hails from Las Vegas, could still be playing high school ball. He turned 18 a couple weeks ago, but there was something special about the youngster that convinced Big Bend coach Mark Poth to bring him a thousand miles to the north.

"I thought Hugh did a nice job, brought some energy," Poth said. "He plays above the rim, which is nice. He's a young kid who just hasn't played a whole lot of organized basketball."

When asked why he came to Big Bend, even Brown was a bit puzzled.

"(Coach Poth) found me and I thought he was fake, because why would you want me out of all the other people in the world?" Brown said, a wide smile creeping across his face. "I just came to see, check it out and do something different. I'm glad I'm up here."

York, a Richland High School product, nearly redshirted this season and only became eligible within the last week. He scored all 10 of his points on Wednesday in the second half, stole three passes, and has established himself as the starting point guard.

That's big for Poth's rotation, as it allows him to move freshman Will Winn to the two-guard spot.

"He is our point guard," Poth said of York. "I think he'll get better and better as he learns the system and fits into it."

With the Vikings clinging to a three-point lead in the final minute, their initial thought was to run as much clock as possible. But they saw an opening and took advantage, with Brown throwing down a monstrous dunk on a perfect lob from York.

The alley-oop helped seal the deal, with Landon knocking down four straight free throws as insurance.

"We made eye contact, so I was like, 'Just throw it up there,'" Brown said. "At first I was kind of sketchy about doing it, but then I was like, 'Just do it.'"

"That was a great pass," Poth said of the play. "I don't know if that's a high-percentage play but, you know, we needed something big there."

Landon was on fire in the early-going, helping Big Bend finish 8 of 16 from 3-point range in the first half. He had 16 points at the break, but when Peninsula adjusted its defense to contain him, it forced the other Vikings into prominent roles.

"They tightened up and tried to take Daley out of it a little bit," Poth said. " The other guys stepped up. I thought Hugh came in and played a good game offensively. I thought Kolby Secrist did a great job on the glass. He had some big blocked shots for us and he's really coming around."

The lead changed hands 14 times, most of those coming in the second half. Peninsula's last lead came with about seven minutes left when Terrance Stewart came off the bench to score five quick points and put the visitors ahead 63-61.

The Pirates forged a 67-67 tie later on, but York drilled a trey from the right wing and swished two free throws, giving the Vikings a 72-67 cushion with 2:45 to play.

Secrist had three key blocked shots, and Winn added a team-high four steals. The Vikings also tightened up their defense in the final 20 minutes, holding the Pirates to 36 percent (14 of 39) from the floor.

Clay Greenland led Peninsula with 23 points on 11 of 20 shooting, and Dominick Lozano added 13 points.

Wednesday's win, coupled with a third-place finish at last weekend's NWAACC crossover tournament, should propel the Vikings into the newest rankings to be released today. More importantly, beating a quality squad was a good morale-builder.

"It makes us feel very good, to be honest," Brown said. "It lets us know where we're at. The competition is tough, and we just rose up to another level tonight."

"I think our guys know if we play well, we're capable of beating anybody in the NWAACC on any given night," Poth added. "We've got to cut our turnovers down, tighten our defense up a little bit and execute better offensively."