Vikings move into NWAACC tourney off two straight losses

SPOKANE - The Big Bend Community College men's basketball team didn't end the regular season on a good note, but the Vikings will have a chance to atone beginning Thursday.

The Runnin' Vikes dropped their regular-season finale to the top-ranked Spokane Sasquatch on Saturday, 73-47. The 47 points scored was a season low, surpassing the 66 points the Vikings scored in a Feb. 13 win over Columbia Basin.

Fifth-ranked Big Bend (21-6 overall, 10-4 East Region) will be the No. 2 seed from its region for the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges' championship tournament. The Vikings open the tourney on Thursday at Kennewick's Toyota Center, and will face the No. 3 seed from the North Region.

The North's No. 3 seed hadn't been decided on Monday, as Bellevue, Everett and Whatcom finished the year with 12-4 marks in regional play.

Against Spokane, the Runnin' Vikes hung tough in the first half, trailing 38-31 at the break. But the Sasquatch (27-1, 14-0) pummeled them in the second half with a 35-16 surge, and Big Bend shot only 24 percent from the field (5 of 21) in that time.

Daley Landon had a team-high 13 points for Big Bend, including a pair of 3-pointers. Cameron Mero was the only other Viking in double figures, tallying 10 points and hitting two 3-pointers.

Kolby Secrist had six rebounds for Big Bend, but Spokane had a 33-31 edge on the boards. The Sasquatch also forced 30 turnovers, including 10 steals.

Spokane's Bo Gregg led all scorers with 17 points, hitting 5 of 8 from 3-point range. Matthew Dorr had 12 points, Jordan Gregg scored 11 and Eric Beal chipped in nine points and 10 assists.

The Vikings also lost last Wednesday at Wenatchee Valley, falling 77-74 to the Knights (8-18, 5-9).

Big Bend blew a 10-point lead late in the first half and again struggled with its shooting in the second half. The Vikings were only 11 of 32 (34 percent) from the floor over the final 20 minutes, while the Knights shot 12 of 25 (48 percent).

Big Bend earned a 47-41 advantage in rebounds and a 19-11 edge in second-chance points, but had one of its worst games of the year in 3-point shooting - the Vikings' bread and butter - with a 6 for 29 effort (21 percent).

Landon paced the Vikes with 18 points, but was only 5 of 15 from the field. Will Winn scored 13 and Brett Vriesman added 12, but the pair combined to shoot 10 of 26. Secrist grabbed a game-high 12 boards.

Wenatchee Valley's Greg Giese led all scorers with 24 points and Ryan Votaw tallied 16.

Big Bend's women finished their season at Spokane, losing 69-52 to the sixth-ranked Sasquatch.

The Lady Vikings had a promising start to their season and were ranked at one point, but dropped eight of their last nine games to finish at 14-13 overall, 4-10 in East Region play.

Spokane (19-7, 10-4) piled up a 40-29 lead going to halftime, shooting 49 percent (17 of 35) in the opening half. The Sasquatch built their lead to as many as 20, and had edges of 23-11 in bench points and 44-36 in rebounds.

Big Bend, which finished the game at 33 percent from the field (19 of 58), got 13 points apiece from Dana Bates and Kim Bluff. Misty Ostlie and Natalie Lindley each scored eight points, while Kaitie Poston contributed six rebounds.

Spokane got 17 points from Ashlee Michelson, who hit 8 of her 10 field-goal attempts. Kelsey Stillar added 10 points, and Liz Beardslee had eight points and nine rebounds.

Last Wednesday, the Lady Vikings struggled mightily on the offensive end, finishing 3 of 31 from 3-point range in a 71-52 setback to the Knights.

Wenatchee Valley led 39-24 at halftime and increased the margin to 64-35 late in the game. The Knights scored 23 points off 26 Big Bend turnovers and limited the Vikings to 29 percent (19 of 65) from the field for the game.

Poston and Bluff each scored 13 points to pace the Vikings, with Poston adding eight rebounds. Bates tossed in eight points and seven boards.

Wenatchee Valley's Lauren Daling had 23 points, hitting 8 of 8 at the free-throw line. Teammates Amanda Krieg (13 points) and Mindy Johnson (nine points, seven boards) also had key efforts.