Splitsville for Yaks: YVCC men win, women lose against Big Bend

YAKIMA, Wash. — So, Ray Funk, given your intimate familiarity with NWAACC men’s basketball and its often seismic swings of momentum, at what point during Wednesday night’s game with Big Bend did you feel safe?

To which the Yakima Valley coach responded, “Did it get to 30?”

For the record, no.

Yakima Valley Community College's Cameron Jensen goes for the basket past Big Bend's Kyle Nield, left, and Blake Skidmore, right, during the first half of their game on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012. (SARA GETTYS/Yakima Herald-Republic)

But the Yaks did so thoroughly outplay their highly regarded opponents that their lead twice reached 27 before YVCC settled for a 94-76 thumping in Sherar Gym.

Meaning an evening that started on a decisively down note for Yaks fans in the form of a 65-63 women’s loss concluded in a highly triumphant fashion.

“Oh yeah — our best game, no doubt,” said Dabrail Henton, whose 29-point night was spectacularly supported by Amir Royal’s 26. “We got this win at the defensive end. We worked hard, we played together and we didn’t let up once we got the lead.”

Not only did Yakima Valley improve its East Region record to 2-0 and its season mark to 9-5, it did so in dominant wire-to-wire fashion against a Big Bend team (1-1, 11-2) that came in with a No. 4 NWAACC ranking.

En route to an 18-8 getaway, YVCC twice forced 30-second timeouts by veteran Vikings coach Mark Poth. Undeterred, and fueled by a 20-point first half punctuated by three dunks and two long 3-pointers by Royal, the Yaks staged a 17-4 sprint to intermission that left them with a 55-35 cushion.

Henton then ensured that the explosive Viks would make no serious inroads, scoring eight straight Yakima Valley points in the first 6:31 of the second half.

His putback gave YVCC its first 27-point bulge, 70-43 at 14:29, and Royal’s fast break hoop through a foul produced the second, 91-64 at 4:46.

Jalon Flowers came off the bench for 15 points in scarcely more than 20 minutes of floor time as Yakima Valley outshot Big Bend 52 percent to 39 and outboarded the Vikings 53-34.

The 3-pointer, long a Big Bend staple, did not help the visitors’ cause on this occasion with YVCC nailing 7 of 16 such attempts while the Vikings were only 7 of 31.

Guard Blake Skidmore, among the NWAACC’s top scorers at 20.8 points per game coming in, hit 3 of 6 long balls en route to a team-best 23 points.

“Our focus for this game, our preparation and execution, was very good,” said Funk. “And if we take nothing else away from this win, that’s encouraging because we’ve struggled in those areas before.”

Yakima Valley’s women, minus scoring leaders Brandi Henton (24.6 ppg) and Brittney Newcomb (16.9) due to injuries, struggled throughout against Big Bend’s 2-3 zone defense.

Still, after trailing by as many as 15 points in the first half, YVCC led on several occasions in the second before finding itself tied 63-63 with less than a minute to play.

But Big Bend’s Tiffany Morris came up with a steal and scored while being fouled with 25.3 seconds to play. She missed the free throw, however, and the Yaks had a chance to tie when Simone Jordan was fouled with 0.2 ticks left.

Jordan, 6 for 6 from the line to that juncture, missed the first of a one-and-one to end it.

“In games like that,” YVCC coach Cody Butler said, “it’s usually someone scoring on a busted play or getting a loose ball that decides it. Their player got the steal and ended up winning it for them.”

Jordan finished with 19 points and reserve Ashley Swetzof had 11 for Yakima Valley.

Brandi Henton, Dabrail’s sister, will learn today whether she will return this season from an injured right knee. She was scheduled for arthroscopic surgery this morning.

Newcomb, meanwhile, is listed as day-to-day due to a tender ankle.

YAKIMA VALLEY MEN 94, BIG BEND 76

BIG BEND — Loera 2-10 1-2 5, Pingel 2-15 3-3 9, Blake Skidmore 8-15 4-6 23, Antonio Snow 7-18 0-2 14, Page 2-2 0-0 4, DeAndre Johnson 5-6 0-1 10, Pena 0-0 0-0 0, Bruneel 1-3 1-2 3, Groth 1-3 0-0 3, Green 0-0 0-0 0, Nield 2-5 0-1 5. Totals 30-77 9-17 76.

YAKIMA VALLEY — Diggs 1-3 2-2 4, Amir Royal 10-15 4-6 26, Molina 1-4 1-2 3, Dabrail Henton 10-20 6-6 29, Jensen 2-5 1-2 7, Battle 0-1 0-0 0, Martinez 1-3 2-3 4, Bagby 0-1 0-0 0, Romero 3-4 0-0 6, Jalon Flowers 6-10 3-5 15. Totals 34-66 19-26 94.

Halftime — YVCC 55-35. 3-point goals — BBCC 7-31 (Loera 0-5, Pingel 2-11, Johnson 0-1, Groth 1-3, Skidmore 3-6, Snow 0-1, Nield 1-4); YVCC 7-16 (Royal 2-4, Bagby 0-1, Molina 0-1, Henton 3-5, Jensen 2-4, Flowers 0-1). Fouled out — None. Rebounds — BBCC 34 (Skidmore 5); YVCC 53 (Henton 9, Royal 8). Assists — BBCC 5 (Snow 3); YVCC 15 (Diggs 5). Turnovers — BBCC 7; YVCC 18. Total fouls — BBCC 22, YVCC 19.

BIG BEND WOMEN 65, YAKIMA VALLEY 63

BIG BEND — Lopez 1-1 0-0 2, Tiffany Morris 6-9 2-2 16, Zollinger 1-2 0-0 2, Kelsey 3-7 0-1 9, Scott 4-7 0-0 9, Nield 1-4 1-2 4, Alli Nielsen 8-13 2-4 18, Tews 0-4 0-0 0, Martinez 1-7 0-4 2, J. Nielsen 1-4 1-2 3. Totals 26-58 6-15 65.

YAKIMA VALLEY — Brewster 0-0 0-0 0, Cox 2-7 0-0 4, Ashley Swetzof 5-12 0-0 11, K. Gonzales 3-7 2-2 9, Weaver 1-2 2-2 5, Lekson 3-7 0-0 6, Ferguson 0-0 0-0 0, Simone Jordan 6-13 6-7 19, Zapien 4-6 1-2 9, A. Gonzales 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-54 11-13 63.

Halftime: Big Bend 38, Yakima Valley 32.

3-point goals: Big Bend 7-17 (Kelsey 3-6, Morris 2-4, Scott 1-1, Nield 1-2, Tews 0-2, Martinez 0-1, J. Nielsen 0-1), Yakima Valley 4-14 (Weaver 1-2, K. Gonzales 1-2, Jordan 1-2, Swetzof 1-5, Lekson 0-2, Zapien 0-1). Rebounds: Big Bend 37 (A. Nielsen 6, Martinez 5), Yakima Valley 31 (K. Gonzales 6, Jordan 4). Total fouls: Big Bend 14, Yakima Valley 13. Fouled out: None. Assists: Big Bend 10 (Morris 3), Yakima Valley 14 (K. Gonzales 5, Zapien 3). Turnovers: Big Bend 14, Yakima Valley 17. Blocked shots: Big Bend 1, Yakima Valley 0. Steals: Big Bend 5 (Kelsey 3), Yakima Valley 12 (Jordan 6, K. Gonzales 3).