Vikes turn back Tribe in second half
BY GEORGE KUNKE
KOPLITZ FIELD HOUSE – South Bend wasn’t ready to play in the first quarter and by then it was too late during a 67-44 defeat at the hands of North Beach on Senior Night before a crowd of about 185 last Tuesday (Jan. 22).
The Hyaks forged out to a 25-3 lead after the first quarter, and then outscored the Indians 42-41 the rest of the game.
“We got off to a really slow start in the first quarter, but after that we played even with them the next three quarters,” South Bend HS head coach Tom Betrozoff told the Herald. “Both times we played North Beach this season they have shot the ball extremely well and when they shoot well they are a very good basketball team.
“Miles (Davis) had a nice game with 21 points, eight rebounds and four assists,” Betrozoff noted.
“Once again we were short handed with players missing due to illness,” Betrozoff added.
Justin Elliott had 10 points and Austin Lewis added nine.
Four players scored in double figures for North Beach, including Gabe Hernandez (14), Justin Chong (12), Tyler Turner (12) and Corey Thornton (10).
The Indians (1-17, 1-9) shot 28 percent from the floor compared to 49 percent for the Hyaks (10-7, 7-4).
Vikings 64, South Bend 41
Willapa Valley turned up the pressure on defense, erased a four-point halftime deficit and then pulled away from South Bend in the second half during a 64-41 home victory Friday night.
The young Indians led the No. 7 ranked (A.P.) Vikings 29-25 at halftime, but the more experienced team from Menlo outscored its guests 17-8 in the third quarter and 22-4 in the fourth panel.
“We struggled in the first half as the Tribe shot 12 for 20 from the floor and we shot only about 33 percent,” Willapa Valley HS head coach John Peterson told the Herald. “I felt we were settling for jumpers instead of taking the ball to the hoop. At half, we talked with the kids about remembering who we are and what kind of team we had and we outscored them 39-12 in the second half.
"We played very well in the first half and were still in contention after three down only by five,” Betrozoff said. “Being short-handed as usual, we ran out of gas in the fourth quarter.
“I felt the game was a lot closer than the final score, being we were down by 11 with three minutes left,” Betrozoff said. “Valley is an experienced team and the bulk of our roster is freshmen and sophomores.”
“I thought we handled their defensive pressure for the most part; we showed our youth on a couple of occasions and had a short rough stretch of making poor decisions,” Betrozoff said. “Even though we came up short, I was very pleased with the kids efforts."
Coach Peterson appreciated the stellar play of several of his players.
“Matt was great with 21 points and 10 rebounds,” Peterson noted. “David Rockett had a great game with 15 points, eight boards, and some very good defense, and Stephen had 13 points and 11 boards.
“I have to give South Bend credit. I thought they played very hard and gave us some real problems.”
Matt Konigsberger fired in 21 points for the winners on 8 of 14 shooting and David Rockett (8 rebs) pumped in 15 points on 7 of 12 from the field. As a team, the Vikes shot 41 percent on 24 of 58.
“Justin Elliot was unstoppable in the first half, he finished with 18 points and seven rebounds,” Betrozoff noted.
Davis scored 10 points and grabbed nine boards.
The Tribe shot 35 percent (16 of 46).
Valley enjoyed a huge advantage at the foul stripe (16 of 27), while SB was 6 of 13.
Konigsberger ended up with a double-double by taking down 10 rebounds and the talented junior also gave out five assists, stole the ball four times and blocked a shot. Stephen Camenzind canned 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
Valley committed 10 turnovers.
The Vikes romped in the junior varsity game 57-19.
The Vikings (15-4, 10-1) hosted Raymond (15-4, 10-1) for the Pacific League championship Tuesday night. South Bend (1-18, 1-10) completed its season at Naselle Tuesday.
Willapa Valley 54, Northwest Christian 32
Anthony Sagen sank 19 points on 7 of 12 shooting to shoot Willapa Valley past host Northwest Christian 54-32 last Tuesday (Jan. 22) at Lacey.
“We went into a place where we have had some success and some failures and came out with a 22-point win,” Peterson told the Herald. “Anthony Sagen was outstanding with 19 points. He also was a real bother to them on defense, flying around at full speed, just being a pest. It was his best game of the year.
“Drew Pearson just barely missed a double-double with nine points and 10
rebounds,” Peterson noted. “He was as solid as a rock. I was very pleased to win in Lacey.”
The Vikes led by only one (10-9) after one quarter and were ahead 27-15 at halftime and 37-24 heading into the fourth quarter.
Drew Pearson snared 10 rebounds and scored nine points and David Rockett added eight points and five assists. Sagen made five steals and gave out three assists.
Willapa turned the ball over a dozen times and force NC to commit 26 miscues.
Christian sank to 2-8 in the Pacific League and 3-15 overall.