Runnin' Vikes Come Up Empty On Opening Weekend

The much awaited season opener for the new look Runnin' Vikes came on November 18th as BBCC faced off versus the Bellevue Bulldogs. A solid test for Head Coach Jason Hopkins, as his squad faced off versus a Bulldogs team coming off of a a solid 23-9 season. With a new squad from top to bottom, this season opener would give the Vikes an indication of where they stack up versus a top tier NWAC team. 

The Vikes came out of the gate flying and managed to execute their fast pace, high tempo style of play resulting in BBCC going into half time leading by a score of 38-36. Hoping to continue what gave them success in the second half was challenged, as the Bulldog offense came to life and the Runnin' Vikes shooting started to slip. After a competitive first half on both side of the ball for both teams, the scale started to tip in favor of Bellevue College. 

The Bulldog offense was a challenge to keep up with as they shot 61% from the floor, 62% from three and 100% from the free throw line while BBCC was unable to connect from deep the entire second half. With the lopsided shooting percentages, BBCC was unable to keep up offensively resulting in a season opener loss by a score of 89-66.

Malik Beauford was the Vikes leading scorer dropping 19 points on 7-12 shooting while collecting 6 assists along with Gideon Harris adding a dozen points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists in the BBCC loss. 

After a tough loss to start the season, the Runnin' Vikes hoped to get in the win column as they battled it out versus Shoreline Community College. BBCC ran into the same issue as they did in their season opener and that was lights out shooting by their opponent. Shoreline shot at an elite level shooting 65% from the floor along with 60% from beyond the arc. Having to keep up with the Shoreline proved difficult as BBCC struggled from the three point line shooting 29% on 24 attempts. 

Malik Beauford led the Vikings offense for the second game in a row dropping 20 points on 6-8 shooting along with Gideon Harris chipping in with 14 points on an efficient 5-6 from the floor. The stellar efforts from Harris and Beauford were not enough as the Vikes dropped their second straight by a score of 94-69

BBCC prepares for the Skagit Valley Tournament this upcoming weekend. 

As always, keep up with the Vikings on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, as well as through the NWACSports Network's livestream video platform, where available.