Columbia Basin roundup: Runnin' Vikes use late surge to beat Wenatchee Valley
MOSES LAKE — Wenatchee Valley, like most scrappy teams, hung around and kept the game close.
Ahead by seven points with just under five minutes to play, Big Bend head coach Mark Poth signaled for a timeout. The strategy was to get the ball to 6-foot-8 Jacob McCord on the block. That paid off on two straight possessions, Big Bend turned up its defense on the opposite end and put the game away with a 10-0 run.
McCord totaled 32 points and 15 rebounds, helping the Runnin’ Vikes avoid a second consecutive tight games against the Knights 84-70.
“He comes to play every single game,” sophomore guard Jai Jai Ely said. “That’s really nice. That’s the biggest factor. If nothing’s going on, we’re dumping it down to him and he’s getting an easy bucket every time.”
McCord began the run with a spin move into a 10-foot bank shot, followed by a dish from Jaleel Holdford. Joey Andrews crashed the offensive glass for a put-back and Ely scored on two straight possessions to complete the run. Ely chipped in 18 points for the evening.
“They made a run at us. Our guys bounced back and made real good run there at about the four-minute mark and kind of put the game away,” head coach Mark Poth said. “Wenatchee’s been playing well, they’ve been playing teams close. We shot poorly, but still got a double-digit win. We feel good about that.”
Wenatchee Valley guard Justin Martin, the shortest man on the floor at 5-foot-8, played big in the first half. Martin scored his team’s first 11 points and totaled 19 in the first half.
Behind the hot shooting of Martin, Wenatchee Valley kept the first half close until Big Bend methodically extended its lead.
After a slow start, McCord matched Martin with 19 first-half points of his own, which included two tomahawk dunks.
“He’s (McCord) great on the offensive glass and he’s great on the defensive glass,” Poth said. “He’s just a workhorse — really plays hard. He’s a Division-I player. One reason we’ve got a good basketball team is because he’s probably the best big guy I think in the whole entire NWAC.
“When you’ve got a guy who’s getting 28 points every night and getting you over 12 rebounds a night, that’s a real good nucleus to build around.”
Score by halves
Big Bend — 45 39 84
Wenatchee Valley — 35 35 70
Prep boys basketball
East Valley 77, Ephrata 74
YAKIMA — Ephrata struggled to get stops and lost to East Valley 77-74.
Cameron Clark led the Tigers with 29 points. Jakob Oxos added 17 points.
Prep girls basketball
East Valley 58, Ephrata 37
YAKIMA — Ephrata lost to East Valley 58-37.
Madison Martin had nine points.