Vikings find the road a welcome place to be

Big Bend men, women take out Treasure Valley, Blue Mountain

ONTARIO, Ore. - A trip south ended with a trip north in the standings for the Big Bend Community College basketball teams.

The Vikings swept a pair of Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges opponents over the weekend, going to Oregon for wins over the Treasure Valley Chukars and Blue Mountain Timberwolves.

The Viking men, ranked fourth in the Jan. 17th NWAACC poll, improved to 4-1 in East Division play, 15-3 overall, a game ahead of third-place Walla Walla and a game and a half back of top-ranked Spokane.

The Lady Vikings (3-2, 13-5) dropped out of the conference rankings last week, but the sweep in Oregon left them tied with Walla Walla for the East's final playoff position.

On Saturday against Treasure Valley, the host Chukars (3-3, 6-12) kept things close for 20 minutes, trailing 50-45 at halftime. But the Vikings turned on the jets after that, outscoring the Chukars by 20 in the second half to win 102-77.

Both teams shot the ball well from the floor, with Big Bend making half of their 68 attempts and Treasure Valley hitting at a 52 percent clip. But the Vikings turned the tides by getting to the foul line, and hit 24 of 33 free-throw attempts. Conversely, Treasure Valley made only six free throws.

Three Vikings scored more than 20 points, with sophomores Brett Vriesman and Daley Landon sharing the team with 24 points apiece. Vriesman was 8 of 12 from the floor, 8 of 12 from the line, and grabbed seven rebounds. Landon buried 6 of 9 from 3-point range, helping the Vikings finish 10 of 22 from long range.

Cameron Mero scored 22 points, hitting 9 of 13 from the field. Point guard James York added 16 points on 6 of 11 shooting. Kolby Secrist had a team-high eight rebounds and York had seven as Big Bend won the battle of the boards 39-30.

The Chukars' Newt Basey had 13 points, with Ryan Goodwin scoring 12, Josh Smith scoring 11, and Kyle Hart adding 10.

Earlier that night, the Lady Vikings took an early 12-point lead and held off Treasure Valley 66-59.

Big Bend led 25-13 in the first half, though the game featured five ties and eight lead changes. The Vikings played solid defense, forcing 21 turnovers and limiting the Chukars (1-4, 4-14) to 37 percent shooting.

Point guard Misty Ostlie paced the Vikings with 12 points on 5 of 9 shooting. Sophomore co-captains Heather Burke and Kim Bluff went a combined 5 of 16 from the floor, but each added 11 points. Big Bend had a balanced attack as seven of their eight players scored at least seven.

Burke and Dana Bates shared the team lead with five rebounds each.

Treasure Valley's Ashlie McFarland led all scorers with 14 point and teammate Elizabeth Jablonski added 10. The Chukars had a 41-33 edge in rebounding and a 20-10 edge in points off turnovers.

On Friday at Pendleton, Ore., the Lady Vikings put up 49 first-half points and went on to an 80-73 victory over Blue Mountain (0-5, 9-12).

Big Bend led 49-38 at halftime and stretched the margin to 59-43 early in the second half. Angela Fales led the Vikings with 16 points, making half of her 14 attempts, and grabbed seven rebounds.

Big Bend again got a balanced attack as all nine players scored. Bates had 13 points, 10 rebounds and two steals. Bluff scored 12 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, and Ostlie contributed 11 points and six assists.

Ashley Sanders paced four double-digit scorers for Blue Mountain with 17 points. Jequala Warren scored 15, Amanda Hammond had 13 and Caitlin Morgan added 11.

The game was filled with turnovers and missed shots, as Big Bend outrebounded Blue Mountain 52-51 and forced 28 turnovers to the Timberwolves' 26 .

The men capped the night with a 112-83 blowout of the Timberwolves. Big Bend went up 47-30 at halftime and finished with a huge surge, scoring 65 points in the final 20 minutes.

Six Vikings finished with at least 10 points, with Landon scoring 29 on 8 of 14 from 3-point land. He added five rebounds and four assists.

York and Secrist each scored 15 points and the pair combined for 12 of 16 shooting, 6 of 9 on treys. York had eight assists, seven rebounds and three steals.

Vriesman, Isaiah Hawkins and Will Winn all scored 10 points apiece. Big Bend shot 57 percent from the floor and was 18 of 35 (51 percent) on 3-pointers.

Blue Mountain got 24 points from Khabir Muhammad, 16 from Jamar Ransome and 14 from Trey Bowie. The Timberwolves committed 18 turnovers and shot 12 of 22 from the foul line.

The Vikings return home on Wednesday night to host the Hawks from Columbia Basin College. The women tip at 6 p.m., with the men following at 8 p.m.

The Lady Hawks (4-1, 14-4) shared the conference's top spot with Umpqua last week but are coming off a 65-61 loss to Yakima Valley. Columbia Basin's men stand at 1-4 in the division 8-10 overall.