MOSES LAKE — The Big Bend Community College Vikings (10-15) defeated the Columbia Basin College Hawks 85-63 to earn a statement win at home. Head Coach Jason Hopkins said it was nice to see his players start putting together they had worked on prior to this game.   

“We've had some good offensive games, some good defensive games, but I think we put both of those together, and some of the players that we needed to step up, stepped up and performed. When you can put those things together, good results tend to follow,” Hopkins said.   

The Vikings were on fire in the first half, as Jakari Singleton and Sugar Eaton were productive in the starting lineup. As more players stepped up throughout the half, they built a commanding 45-26 lead at halftime. The second half presented some challenges as the Hawks made some effective adjustments. However, BBCC kept the pressure on and maintained their offensive rhythm to win by 22-points.   

“We lost our starting big kid, and he's been probably our most important player throughout the year. I think they all realized that you can't just rely on certain guys, that everybody had to step up. And I thought that was an important thing for us last night,” Hopkins said.   

As Eaton and Singleton were finding the basket on offense, Big Bend also dominated the defensive glass in the first half. Out of 16 total rebounds, 15 of them were on defense for the Vikings.   

“I thought we competed on the defensive glass really well. Our defensive wings did a great job of crashing down, and our ability to be able to secure rebounds, get some turnovers and then push that out and run and get some easy baskets, I thought made a big difference in the game,” Hopkins said. 

Also contributing on offense was Miguel Taylor, Kayden Meadows, Lorenzo Contreras, Ori Mizrahi, Mo Ibrahim and Tai Tairoa. Contreras facilitated the offense on several occasions, helping him lead the team in the first half with four assists. By halftime, BBCC led 45-26.   

Hopkins said it was important for the players to not let up in the second half and continue to execute the same game plan that helped them take such a commanding lead at the break.   

“Our main focus was on making sure that we stuck to what our game plan was. The guys didn't start looking for their own shot or their own steals or blocks or any of the other stuff, and they stayed focused on the team outcomes, objectives and goals,” he said.  

Big Bend brought the same intensity in the second half as more players fell into a rhythm offensively. Taylor led the team in the second half with 10 points, making two out three shots from the perimeter plus two more makes inside the paint.   

Singleton, Mizrahi and Ibrahim also found buckets to help the Vikings outscore the Hawks 40-37 in second half and seal the win. With the win, BBCC improves to 10 wins in the regular season. Hopkins said this game also showed how his team is growing with each game.   

“Sometimes you can't rush growth,” Hopkins said. “You have to keep working at it. We got a lot of first year guys who were playing for the first time. They really had to experience doing the wrong thing sometimes in order to understand why the right thing is the right thing.”   

In their final stretch of games, Hopkins said he is not worried about three-straight road games, he just wants to see his players continually improve.   

“Sometimes I think teams at this stage of the season kind of think they are who they are,” he said. “We still got time to become a more fully realized version of ourselves and over the next three game stretch where we're on the road, we've just got to focus on our opponent, make sure that we're doing our job in terms of building a game plan that makes sense, and then executing that game plan at the highest level.”  

BOX SCORE  

CBC: 26-37: 63
BBCC: 45-40: 85 

    Micah Munoz (0) shoots a three-pointer against Columbia Basin College Wednesday. The Vikings outrebounded the Hawks 35-28.
  

    Kayden Meadows (31) posts up in the paint and looks for an open teammate as a defender from Columbia Basin College applies defensive pressure.
  

    Ori Mizrahi passes the ball outside to a teammate against Columbia Basin College. Mizrahi scored 10-points, recorded four rebounds and two steals.
  

    The Vikings’ Lorenzo Contreras (1) drives the ball up the court against Columbia Basin College. Contreras finished the game with six assists.