East Oregonian
PENDLETON — A round 100 points stared menacingly down from the visitors side of the scoreboard at Mosby Court on Friday. The Blue Mountain Community College men’s basketball team sulked toward its bench as the final few seconds mercifully left the game clock. It was a painful loss to endure — a 100-64 beating from Big Bend — in a so-far painful season for the Timberwolves (4-10, 0-4 NWAACC-E).
“After this one, it’s disappointment. A lot of us angry,” said sophomore Ryan Strand. “We just need to regroup, readjusted what we want to do. Do we want to throw the season away or do we want to get together without the coaches and re-establish everything back to basics.”
Big Bend (13-2, 3-1 NWAACC-E), the top team in the NWAACC’s East Region, brought the pressure early and often, flaunting athleticism at every turn. The Vikings soared through the air to snatch loose balls, grab rebounds, dunk baskets and generally make life miserable for anyone in a Timberwolves jersey.
Despite pulling back from a full-court press after halftime, the Vikings maintained thier pace of turnover creation as Blue Mountain’s offense became more scattered and hectic.
But positives do exist in this type of game said BMCC’s Strand, you just have to dig a little. Several bench players got time on the court that will help them later. As fouls accumulated — three BMCC starters had each picked up four fouls early in the second half — the Timberwolves were able to adjust and kept those totals from swelling. The details are what the team wants to take away from the blowout, Strand said, which will help them move forward and focus on the next game.
Strand led the T-Wolves with 16 points and also had 10 rebounds and Kyle Davis added a double-double as Blue Mountain lost its seventh straight game.
Big Bend was led by Blake Skidmore with 21 points as eight Vikings scored eight points or more.