Henifin, Whatcom knock out Big Bend at NWAACC tournament
KENNEWICK - After losing their first-round contest last Thursday at the NWAACC Championships, the Big Bend Vikings were going to have a hard journey in order to earn a trophy.
The Vikings survived a loser-out game on Friday by beating Grays Harbor 75-70, but the Whatcom Orcas eliminated them early on Saturday with an 81-68 triumph.
Big Bend (22-8) struggled at the end of the season, losing four of their final five games. Whatcom continued the Vikings' misery by forcing 18 turnovers, earning a 45-37 edge in rebounding, and placing four scorers in double digits.
The Orcas, who went on to beat Everett on Sunday for the fifth-place trophy, were led by Zach Henifin's 23-point, seven-rebound, four-steal performance. Ryan Christensen had 14 points and 10 boards, Cory Hendricks scored 11, and Zac Andus added 10 points and three steals.
Big Bend's top scorers were its three outgoing sophomores - James York, Daley Landon and Brett Vriesman. York had a team-high 17 points to go along with six assists and three steals. Landon scored 13 and Vriesman added 11 on 4 of 5 shooting.
Landon, the Vikings' leading scorer this season, was rewarded with a first-team selection to the NWAACC East Division All-Star team. Vriesman, the team's leading rebounder, earned a second-team nod. The teams were announced during the tournament at Toyota Center.
Whatcom built a 48-31 lead at halftime and was up by as many as 22 in the second half. The Vikings shot a respectable 42 percent from the field and 71 percent from the foul line - outshooting the Orcas in both categories - but were hurt by turnover and rebounding woes.
Against Grays Harbor a day earlier, the Vikings' strong defensive effort in the first half was a decisive factor. The Gulls shot only 8 of 25 (32 percent) in the opening 20 minutes, though they only trailed 30-27. Big Bend built its lead to nine late in the second half and held on.
A key technical foul late in the contest against Nick Schultens of Grays Harbor allowed Landon to hit a pair of free throws, and the Vikings weathered two 3-pointers from the Gulls in the final moments.
The Vikings were only 37 percent from the field for the game (25 of 67), but had 10 steals and benefited from 23 Gull turnovers.
Landon went off for a game-high 24 points, burying 6 of his 13 tries from 3-point land. York had 10 points, five rebounds and five assists prior to fouling out, Will Winn had 10 points and three steals, and Kolby Secrist added eight points and eight boards.
Grays Harbor got 17 points from Cameron Edison, 15 from Schultens and 14 from Courtney Beach in the loss.