Vikes hold on to defeat Orcas in overtime
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Big Bend’s Jahvontae Jones steps back for the pullup shot in the 100-98 overtime on Wednesday.
Jahvontae’ Jones flies in for the layup in the first half of the Runnin’ Vikes win over the Orcas on Wednesday.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Big Bend’s Jack McClary drives to the basket against the Whatcom player defending in the second half on Wednesday night.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Kaeler Kahana fires the three for Big Bend in the first half of the overtime win over Whatcom.
MOSES LAKE — Big Bend men’s basketball held on in overtime to capture the 100-98 win at home over Whatcom on Wednesday night.
Both sides went back and forth early on in the first half, trading leads. The Orcas were able to build the biggest lead of the half, at 24-18, with eight minutes left in the half. Kaeler Kahana’s three gave the Runnin’ Vikes back the lead less than two minutes later at 30-29.
The last minutes of the opening half went much like the beginning, with both teams neck-and-neck before going into the locker room tied at 38. Denis Ulyanchuk finished with 19 points at the break to lead the way for Big Bend.
The score remained tight to open the second half. The Runnin’ Vikes were able to open up a five-point lead just under five minutes into the half at 57-52. Whatcom would go on a 14-0 run to go up 66-57 with a little under 11 minute to play.
Big Bend crept back, slowly chipping away at the visiting team’s lead. Jaden Brown’s three would put the Runnin’ Vikes back in front at 75-74 with 4:17 left on the clock. Both teams traded blows as time winded down, with Big Bend able to garner a six-point advantage with 1:14 to go.
A pair of free throws and a 3-pointer trimmed the Vikes’ lead to just one with 14 seconds left in regulation. Brown’s free throws put the hosts back up three before Marc Howard’s three tied the game up at 86-86 to force overtime.
Neither team would lead by more than three in the extra period. Down two with a pair of seconds to play, the Orcas desperation three came up short as Big Bend would hold on for the win.
Jahvontae’ Jones led the team with 26 points, chipping in eight rebounds, a pair of assists and four steals. Ulyanchuk finished with 25, including five three’s for the Runnin’ Vikes. The Moses Lake alum added five boards and two assists. Payton Nielsen nabbed the double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds for Big Bend.
Big Bend head coach Mingo Scott said after the win he’d been trying to get his guys to persevere, and simply believe in the system down the stretch.
“That has been, this season, where we’ve faded,” Scott said. “That was big. I was like, relax, we’ve got plenty of game. If we fight back, we’ll get another opportunity to win. And we fought back and put ourself in an opportunity to get the W.”
Scott said the Vikes have tried to run their offense through Ulyanchuk with his ability to spot up as well as battle inside. The Big Bend coach said the Orcas did a good job of taking that away in the game, forcing him to adjust the approach.
“We just needed to take care of the ball better, so I had to alter it and go more weaves so we could try and turn the corner and make some plays that way,” Scott said.
The Vikes head coach said he’ll tell his players to enjoy the win, and that tomorrow is another day to get back to working on improving. Scott said the key for the team’s success moving forward relies on a few keys.
“We’ve gotta not turn the ball over, take high percentage shots and not give people second chance points,” Scott said. “And, even though we won, that was a weakness.”
Next up for Big Bend is a game against Clark at home today, beginning at 7 p.m.
