Big Bend men shoot just 20.6 from 3-point range in loss to Wenatchee Valley
Rodney Harwood/Columbia Basin Herald Big Bend point guard Koby Huerta drives on the Wenatchee Valley defense Wednesday night during the NWAC East opener against the Knights.
Rodney Harwood/Columbia Basin Herald Big Bend forward Mauricio Smith draws a foul on Justin Dorius of Wenatchee Valley Wednesday night during NWAC East action at DeVries Activity Center.
Rodney Harwood/Columbia Basin Herald Blake Dittman kicks the ball outside after securing an offensive rebound during the first half of Big Bend's NWAC East opener against Wenatchee Valley.
MOSES LAKE — When you live by the sword, you die by the sword, or in this case the dagger. The Big Bend Runnin’ Vikes shot just 20.6 percent from 3-point range during Wednesday night’s NWAC East home opener against Wenatchee Valley and saw their three-game winning streak end with a 81-61 loss to the Knights.
The Runnin’ Vikes (7-6, 0-1 NWAC East ) got it to 46-35 when point guard Koby Huerta knocked down a trey from the corner with 14 minutes left. But Big Bend was called for a technical foul. The ensuing free throws plus possession resulted in the score bouncing back to 50-35 Knights (8-5, 1-0).
“We have to be able to shoot 33 percent and above from 3-point range to be successful,” first year Runnin’ Vikes head coach Mingo Scott said. “The bottom line is, we don’t have the trees to go and attack the rim. Blake Dittman (6-foot-4 sophomore) attacks the rim because he can elevate. But the little guys can’t go up and finish on the 6-8 guys, so it’s imperative we be able to shoot the three.”
Dittman led the Runnin’ Vikes with 22 points and five rebounds. The sophomore shooting guard from Boise, Idaho, was 9-of-18 from the floor and shot 2-of-8 from 3-point range. As a whole, Big Bend made just 7-of-34 from beyond the arc, while the Knights were a little better, making 10-of-24 from downtown.
The Runnin’ Vikes got a nice little scoring spurt from DeAngelo Stowers coming off the bench in the second half. The 6-2 shooting guard from Upland, Calif., hit back-to-back 3s and followed up with a twisting runner off the glass for a 8-0 run all by himself to make it 61-49 with 9:20 remaining.
“That’s what I’m here for, I bring energy off the bench and I try to keep the defense going,” said Stowers, who finished with 16 points and three rebounds. “I want to keep the positive energy flowing.”
Wenatchee Valley got 18 points from Korbin Gardner, a 6-6 guard from Vernal, Utah, and 17 out of Justin Martin, a 5-9 guard from Lewis and Clark in Spokane.
Big Bend did score 14 points off turnovers, keeping that stellar defense that led them to a big win on the road last week against Grays Harbor. But they never did have an answer for the poor perimeter shooting against the Knights, who led by as many as 22 in the second half.
“All five losses we’ve had this year we’ve shot below 26 percent from the 3-point from the 3-point line,” Scott said. “We can go by you, but then we have to kick it. If we don’t make those 3-point shots, we’re in trouble.”
Big Bend is at Pendleton, Ore., on Saturday for a road game against Blue Mountain, then back to Spokane next Wednesday. They are back at DeVries Activity Center Jan. 13 for a big match-up with Walla Walla.
Wenatchee Valley 36 45 - 81
Big Bend 26 35 - 61
Wenatchee Valley - Justin Martin 17, Ryan Warner 8, Connor Dowdy 12, Korbin Gardner 18, Justin Dorius 6, Thomas Wabaunsee 7, Dale Hagan 2, Trevor Shurtliff 11. Totals: 29-59 13-17 81.
Big Bend - Mauricio Smith 10, Koby Huerta 8, Blake Dittman 22, Miles Brown 2, DeAngelo Stowers 16, Ben Kuiper 1. Totals: 23-63 8-11 61.