Runnin' Vikes take Skagit Valley Turkey Classic

MOUNT VERNON - The Big Bend Community College (BBCC) Runnin' Vikes went 3-0 at the Skagit Valley Turkey Classic over the holiday weekend winning by an average of 19.3 points.

The team opened the tournament defeating Tacoma Community College 81-67, downed Northwest Indian College 121-86 in the semifinals and held on to beat Skagit Valley 85-76 in the championship game.

"I thought we had a good opening round tournament," head coach Mark Poth said. "We played fairly well in all aspects of the game... we're still a pretty young team and I think we'll continue to get better and better as the season goes on."

Sophomore guard Brendan Westendorf was named the tournament MVP after averaging 24.3 points and fellow sophomore guard Kevin Walker was named to the all-tournmanet team.

In the opener, Westendorf poured in 22 points in the first half against Tacoma and BBCC led by 18 at the break. The Titans outscored Big Bend 39-35 in the second half. but the Runnin' Vikes held on to win by double digits. Westendorf finished the game with 33 points, nine rebounds and four steals. Sophomore point guard Victor Aguero added 18 points and two assists.

Poth has been impressed with Westendorf's versatility early on.

"Any time you can average a double-double in rebounds and scoring and (Westendorf's) also getting almost five assists a game and he's number two in the NWAACC with 13 steals," he said. "He's just doing a lot of things for us real well and he's having a good sophomore year so far."

Westendorf once again led the Runnin' Vikes in the semifinals against Northwest Indian College with 29 points, six rebounds and seven assists. BBCC built a 31 point lead at halftime and cruised to a 121-86 victory over the Eagles.

Freshman forwards Sean McDonnell and Richard Black scored 22 and 16 points, respectively.

In the championship, the Runnin' Vikes struggled early shooting 34.3 percent from the field in the first half.. The team narrowly trailed Skagit Valley by two points at the break. BBCC ramped up its offense in the second half against the Cardinals, shooting 63.3 percent, and outscored Skagit Valley by 11 to take the lead and the championship.

Despite winning three in a row, Poth was concerned that the team was outrebounded in two of three games over the weekend.

"I think that's something we're probably going to have to work on," he said. "But I think we have the potential to be a pretty solid rebounding team."

Dec. 7 BBCC will host Skagit Valley in a rematch of the Turkey Classic championship in the Ryan Floch Memorial Game. Each year the team commemorates Floch, a former player, who passed away in a fishing accident.

Soap Lake High School begins play at noon with the Running Vikes set to tip off at 2 p.m. Odessa High School's boys and girls teams will also be in attendance.

"It should be a fun day of basketball," Poth said.