Vikes complete 25-point comeback

The Big Bend Vikings went 1-2 at last weekend's NWAC Crossover Tournament, defeating Whatcom and suffering losses to Grays Harbor and Southwestern Oregon.
COURTESY PHOTO/BBCC ATHLETICS

by CONTRIBUTED REPORT/BBCC ATHLETICS
| December 20, 2023 3:23 PM

BELLINGHAM — Coming off of a disappointing game cancelation, the Runnin' Vikes were chomping at the bit for the NWAC Crossover tournament where they would face off versus Grays Harbor CC, a top-10-ranked squad in Whatcom, and Southwest Oregon CC.

Game one was a true back-and-forth battle from the beginning to the very end. Both teams came out firing but struggled shooting early on resulting in a four-point lead in favor of Grays Harbor going into halftime. BBCC continued to battle, but ultimately could not close the gap dropping a heartbreaker to start the weekend by a score of 62-61. Gil Gonzalez led Big Bend offensively with 15 points on an efficient 6-8 shooting along with grabbing six rebounds. Malik Beauford followed up with 14 points, eight rebounds and three assists in the Viking loss.

After a tough loss to begin the tournament, BBCC had their hands full as they faced off versus No. 10 Whatcom on their home court. Whatcom did not give Big Bend time to settle in as they came out firing and jumped out to an early 25-point lead halfway through the first half. Being down big early, the Runnin' Vikes turned it on and were able to shrink Whatcom's lead to 9 going into the break. The second half was all Big Bend; led by a 10-point half from Lareon Ginnis, BBCC was able to complete an unexpected 25-point comeback managing to defeat the host by a score of 75-74. Francois-Dony Baba led the Vikes in scoring with 16 points on 6-9 shooting followed by the second-half standout with Lareon Ginnis dropping a baker's dozen in the win.

"Early on the guys were struggling to execute, we talked about the need to focus on the NRA (Next Right Action) and not worry about the score," Head Coach Jason Hopkins. "I asked them to come together and play for each other and they responded. They could have folded, but instead, they fought and I'm really proud of them."

Coming off a big win, BBCC battled it out versus Southwest Oregon CC in the rubber match hoping to come out of the weekend with a winning record. A sluggish start for the Vikes put them behind the eight ball going into the break down 12 points. No stranger to being down, BBCC hoped to replicate what they had done the night before. Although Big Bend was able to turn it on offensively, the defense was unable to get critical stops down the stretch allowing SWOCC to go bucket-for-bucket throughout the second half. Unable to get stops resulted in Southwest Oregon extending their lead and ultimately defeating the Vikes by a score of 68-53.

After a 1-2 weekend, BBCC prepares to compete in the Best Western Inn-vitational in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, this upcoming weekend for another three-game set.

As always, keep up with the Vikings on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, as well as through the NWACSports Network's livestream video platform, where available.