By Zach Slagle Winter came early this year. Blue and white shrouded Carver gym Saturday night, Oct. 21, as the men’s basketball team played their annual Blue-White Scrimmage. The scrimmage was the first basketball game held at Carver Gym in over two years due to renovation. Win or lose, Saturday was about the experience. At 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 10, after the opening jump ball, wins and losses count. The cost of losing Saturday’s scrimmage was pricey, however. Dinner would be supplied by the losing team. Enough said. The white team came out starving in the second half, outscoring the blue team 54 to 32. The blue team opened the game with a 9-0 run and never relinquished their lead in the first half. They shot 50 percent in the first half, versus 42 percent in the second. The white team shot nearly 60 percent in the second half and stifled their defense to prevail. After the game, assistant coach David Dunham explained the second half adjustments the white team enforced. “At halftime, we talked about upping our defense and communicating more,” Dunham said. “In the first half it was 20-2 advantage for them in fast break and second chance points. We had to make sure we adjusted that and I think we did a good job limiting their second chance and fast break opportunities.” The difference in the game was free throws. The blue team shot poorly from the charity strike, only 7-for-17. The white team won the free throw battle with an impressive 17-for-20 efficiency. Leading the white team in scoring was senior DeAndre Dickson, who finished with a game-high 31 points. Forward Trevor Jasinsky supplied three 3-pointers and a total of 22 points for the white team. Meanwhile, blue team forward Siaan Rojas got to display his talents in front of Viking fans for the first time. The junior transfer from Santa Rosa finished with 21 points, 15 rebounds and six assists in his 40-minute debut. “A lot of us redshirted last year,” Rojas said. “This was our first action in a while. Speaking for myself, I was nervous playing. Nothing like junior college.” Coach Dunham said the crowd provided a learning experience that previewed a regular season atmosphere. First time in this gym in two years, playing in front of a crowd, everyone was overexcited. Playing in front of a crowd will take away those jitters,” Dunham said. The best thing about Saturday night was nobody got hurt. Player’s got their preseason jitters out of the way and can narrow their focus on consecutive Great Northwest Athletic Conference championships.
