Vikings win 1 out of 3 at Turkey Tournament

MOUNT VERNON — After a tough opening weekend for Vikings basketball, Big Bend Community College hoped to get in the win column as they traveled to Skagit Community College to participate in the Turkey Tournament. 

BBCC got off to a great start to the weekend as they began the tournament facing off versus Peninsula Community College. This game was a back-and-forth battle entering halftime tied 36-36. It appeared it was going to come down to who was going to blink first. As many games do, it came down to the free throw line where the Vikings shot 10-11 from the charity stripe while Peninsula ended up going 4-8. This was the difference maker as BBCC took the W by a score of 71-68. 

Malik Beauford has emerged as BBCC's biggest offensive weapon as he led the squad in scoring for the third straight game. He scored 23 points on an efficient 10-15 shooting record in the victory.

After an emotional victory the night before, BBCC faced off versus Whatcom Community College. The Vikings came out flat only scoring 17 points in the first half and going into halftime down 35-17. Understanding that the offense was going to have to come alive in the second half to be able to make it a ball game, BBCC nearly doubled their score dropping 30 in the second half. The only issue was Whatcom scoring 43 resulting in a 78-47 final score in favor of Whatcom. BBCC struggled from the field shooting 28.6% from the floor and 25% from beyond the arc. Between poor shooting and 17 turnovers, Big Bend was unable to overcome the initial challenges of the first half.

A 31-point defeat the night before made the third and final game of the weekend versus Skagit Valley crucial to wrap up the weekend on a high note. Another sluggish start from the offense put the Vikings in an early hole going into halftime down 19. Although the shooting percentage was relatively solid for Big Bend, it came down to the number of shot attempts as the Vikings were only able to take 44 shots compared to Skagit's 66. With BBCC shooting 50% from the floor, Skagit one-upped the Big Bend players, shooting 59% which ultimately told the tale of the game. With Skagit not only taking many more shots than BBCC but shooting a higher percentage, the result was a Vikings loss with a final score of 90-56. 

Gideon Harris was the leading scorer for the Vikings in the final match of the tourney, dropping 15 points on 4-7 shooting. Malik Beauford wasn’t far behind, dropping a dozen points on 5-8 shooting in the loss. 

BBCC prepares for another tournament this weekend as they compete in the Raider Holiday Classic on Friday, Saturday and Sunday versus Pierce CC, Olympic CC and Clackamas CC.