Vikings streak into playoffs; Big Bend women finish strong

MOSES LAKE - If the number 13 could be any sweeter or luckier it may be the case when applied to the Big Bend Vikings men's basketball team.

On Wednesday night at the Peter DeVries Activity Center, the Vikings put a wrap on their regular season with a resounding 89-70 win over Wenatchee Valley Community College to wrap up the season on a 13-game winning streak.

The second-ranked Big Bend (21-4, 13-1) squad also claimed its second straight Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC) East title.

Not bad for a team that battled rampant injuries but found a way to get hot and keep their momentum throughout the league campaign.

"I was pleased with the defensive intensity that our players played with," Big Bend head coach Mark Poth said. "We are excited to compete at the NWAACC Championship Tournament and we feel that we are playing as well as we have all season on both ends of the court."

Against WVCC (11-13, 5-9), the Vikings couldn't shake their guests early on and held a narrow 40-37 halftime lead.

WVCC helped their cause with a 58 percent shooting display in the first 20 minutes of the game while Big Bend still maintained their lead hitting only 46 percent of its shots.

However, a tight and proficient offense helped the Big Bend cause in the second half as the Vikings finished the game with only seven turnovers total and hit 56 percent of their shots after halftime.

Conversely, their guests still shot 50 percent, but Big Bend would capitalize on the turnover discrepancy in their favor, scoring 19 points on 17 WVCC turnovers.

Big Bend allowed only eight points of their miscues.

Spencer Pingel led Big Bend with 23 points while Hayes Garrity added 22 points and eight assists.

Also helping the cause was Blake Skidmore's 13 points and Ben Olayinka added 12 points.

Next, the Vikings open the NWAACC tournament on March 5 at the Toyota Center in the Tri Cities against the yet, undetermined number four seed out of the North Division. 

BIG BEND women 63

Wenatchee Valley 55

They may not have had a playoff bid in their near future but it didn't mean the Big Bend Lady Vikings didn't have something to play for in their season finale against WVCC on Wednesday night.

Shrugging off a stale first half of play, the Lady Vikings found their groove and pulled away for a season ending 63-55 win to wrap up the 2010-11 campaign with a 12-14 overall record and 5-9 mark in the NWAACC, good enough for sixth place in the East Division.

Things didn't look too promising early as Big Bend had scored only three points in the game's first eight minutes.

"We started out the game playing very timid, which was evident in our lack of point production early on and in the number of early turnovers," Big Bend head coach Preston Wilks said. "I kept emphasizing to the ladies that we'd be all right and to just settle down. "

They did, and with the help of a nice run before halftime the Lady Vikings would trail only 31-28 at halftime.

In the second half, Big Bend's offense got going as they shot 47 percent from the field.

"During the second half, we played to our potential," Wilks said. "We kept the full-court pressure on them, and rotated our players so that we could maintain the intensity.  We generated quite a few turnovers the second half that really helped swing the momentum."

Both teams committed a number of turnovers with WVCC trumping Big Bend 26 to 25.

Big Bend outrebounded their guests 31-30 while holding them to 40 percent shooting.

Shelby Scott led Big Bend with 23 points and four rebounds. She hit four three-pointers.

"Shelby stepped up tonight and played big," Wilks said.

Ali Nielsen added 13 points and Moses Lake High School alum Chayla Hirz played her last game for Big Bend and finished with 10 points.

"This was a great way to finish the season, especially considering what we went through this season," Wilks said. "I told the ladies after the game that I will always remember this team as the team that never gave up.  We had a couple amazing come-from-behind wins in league that really is indicative of their never-quit attitude."

With nine freshmen making up a majority of the roster, the future can promise some potential greatness if all keeps heading in a forward direction.

"We feel like we have a very good foundation to have a really successful season next year," Wilks said.  "I know the ladies will be watching what they do at the NWAACC tourney with much interest, knowing that we played up to that type of level at times this season."