Winning streak falls in Walla Walla

WALLA WALLA — A seven-game winning streak by the Big Bend Community College Vikings basketball team came to a resounding halt as Walla Walla CC rolled to a 101-78 win on Saturday night.

The key for Walla Walla was its 56-point first half which gave them a 13-point lead at halftime against the fourth-ranked Vikings (11-4, 6-1).

“It just wasn’t one of our better defensive performances,” Big Bend coach Mark Poth said. “We play an up-tempo style anyway so there is the potential for a lot of points to be scored. They just executed better defensively than we did and better offensively. We were just flat on both sides of the floor.”

Big Bend falls into to a first-place tie in the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC) East Division with the College of Spokane, who they beat earlier this season.

Walla Walla (12-5, 4-3) shot an astounding 59 percent from the field, including a 61 percent first-half clip.

Big Bend shot 41 percent for the game and were undone by a 35 percent second half performance that thwarted any possible second-half comeback attempt.

They also couldn’t stop Jason Smith.

Smith scored 38 points which included 10 three-pointers (out of 15 attempts) to lead the host Warriors to the win.

He scored 24 points in the first half, including six-for-seven from beyond the arc.

“We were focusing on him and he got a couple of looks and hit them but then he ended up just hitting tough shots,” Poth said. “It’s the best half of three-point shooting that I’ve seen to be honest. He’s coming off screens and just catching and firing. He just had a great game.”

The Vikings also struggled from the three-point line, going four-for-19.

Alan Marsh led the Big Bend offense, which committed only 11 turnovers, with 16 points.

Antonio Snow followed Marsh up with 12 points while Michael Hattar added 11 points.

Dominick Brumfield pitched in with nine points and seven rebounds.

“To be honest I am very pleased overall that we are 6-1,” Poth said. “Our league I think has five very strong teams so for us to be 6-1 at the halfway mark makes me pleased about that. We still have some tough games coming up, so we’ll have to work to stay up top.”