The top-seeded teams from the Northwest Conference and North Sound Conference held serve in the first round of the Class 1A District 1 boys basketball tournament Monday night, Feb. 10.
Lynden Christian and Meridian unleashed their offenses in impressive fashion, the Lyncs dominating Sultan, 87-53, and the Trojans chopping down Cedar Park Christian (Bothell), 77-49.
Nooksack Valley and Mount Baker, the NWC’s third and fourth seeds, didn’t fare as well. The Pioneers lost in the final seconds to South Whidbey, 47-36, and Mount Baker was beaten by King’s, 83-42.
The victories advance Lynden Christian and Meridian into Wednesday’s semifinals. The Lyncs will host South Whidbey, and the Trojans will travel to Seattle to play King’s. Both games are at 7 p.m.
The winners of Wednesday’s semis will play for the district championship on Friday.
The Pioneers and Mounties move into the consolation bracket with loser-out games Wednesday at 7 p.m. Nooksack Valley will host Sultan and Mount Baker will be on the road again, facing Cedar Park Christian (Bothell).
The top five finishers from the district tournament will advance to the Bi-District 1/2 tournament, which starts on Feb. 17.
Mounties Can’t Keep Up With King’s Powerhouse
(by Kelli Terpsma)
The North Sound champion Knights (12-9) started the game hot from the outside and never cooled down, finishing with eight 3-pointers. And with only one player shorter than six-feet, they dominated the boards as well and capitalized on fouls by shooting 100 percent from the free-throw line.
“It’s tough not having a practice to prepare for a team like King’s because they’re a team that very much needs to be prepared for,” said Mount Baker coach Ben Zakheim. “The hope was obviously that they would play below what they’re capable of, but they’re a really good team, and they showed it tonight.”
Mount Baker (6-16) was led by Truman Anderson and Garrett Smith, who had 12 and 11 points, respectively
“It’s not easy to compete at 0-0 when you’re down 30, but they (the Mounties) kept on fighting and that’s something that has to happen for a full 32 minutes on Wednesday,” Zakheim said of the team’s next game.
“We’re still going to be playing a really good team, and two of our seniors are going to be playing for their high school careers.”
Tyler Linhardt led King’s with 29 points while Jordan Hansen put up 13, Tyler Durbin made 11, and Jaron Hansen added 10.
King’s 83, Mount Baker 42
Mount Baker 13 11 9 9—42
King’s 24 22 26 11—83
Mount Baker: Mason Jacoby, Garrett Smith 11, Aidan Corning 2, Ayden Rodriguez 7, Braedan Hart, Jeremiah Lee, Davin Beason 3, Truman Anderson 12, Ethan Larson, Marques Brown, Caleb Horsmon, Jason Lee 7.
King’s: Shane McGaughey-Fick 9, Jake O’Hearn 4, Davis Campbell, Jordan Hansen 13, Matt Amano 3, Carson Clowers 2, Will Pohland, Tyler Linhardt 29, Tyler Durbin 11, Jaron Hansen 10, Lincoln Going, Cooper Rolfs 2.
Lyncs Use Balanced Attack to Overwhelm Sultan
Lynden Christian (17-4) came out firing and never stopped, no matter who was in the game, as the top-seeded Lyncs swatted Sultan (5-14). All 12 Lyncs scored as Lynden Christian put up 27 points in the first period and never let up.
And talk about balanced scoring: Senior guard Bryce Bouwman and junior guard Jaden DeBoer had 14 points each; junior guards Shale Wittern and Cole Moorlag came off the bench to add 13 and 12 points, respectively; and senior forward Zach Sipma tossed in 13 points.
Bouwman also had 5 rebounds and 4 assists, Moorlag had 5 rebounds and 4 assists, Whittern had 6 rebounds, and DeBoer had 5 assists.
Lynden Christian 87, Sultan 53
Sultan 10 16 19 8—53
Lynden Christian 27 19 22 19—87
Sultan: Tanner Force 5, Josh Whitmire-Keith, Cameron Gunderson 14, Lindy Kendall, Chaz Bush 2, Oliver Martinez 5, Tyler Sargent 3, Jeremy John 4, Austin Wood 13, Kobe Koehler 7.
Lynden Christian: Tyler Sipma 4, Jaden DeBoer 14, Brevin Zylstra 2, Shale Whittern 13, Cole Moorlag 12, Zach Sipma 13, Bryce Bouwman 14, Andrew DeVries 9, Logan Dykstra 1, Andrew Hommes 2, Jamison Hintz 2, Will Colwell 1.
Trojans Use 3-Pointers to Bomb Cedar Park Christian
Senior guard Jordan Veenstra tossed in eight 3-pointers on the way to a game-high 26 points as Meridian (14-7) cruised past Cedar Park Christian (Bothell) (13-7).
Veenstra’s three 3-pointers in the first period gave the Trojans an early double-digit lead that they never relinquished. For the game, the Northwest Conference’s second seed hit 15 3-pointers.
Senior guards Jackson Short and Ryan Johnson added 16 and 11 points, respectively, for Meridian.
Meridian 77, Cedar Park Christian (Bothell) 49
Cedar Park Christian (Bothell) 12 11 16 10—49
Meridian 21 17 19 20—77
Cedar Park Christian (Bothell): Duffy 2, Ludwick, Lynch 5, L. Allen 11, Freeman, Baker 17, J. Allen 6, Trout 2, English 6.
Meridian: Ryan Johnson 11, Corey Hemenway 4, Eli Hayrynen 2, Braiden Blackwelder 6, Trent Martin, Jackson Short 16, Trey Naidu 4, Jordan Veenstra 26, Joseph Plagerman 6, Ethan Brooks 2.
Pioneers Come Up Short Against South Whidbey
Nooksack Valley (9-12) held the lead for most of the first three quarters, saw it dwindle in the waning seconds, and still had a chance to win … but a halfcourt shot at the buzzer couldn’t produce a miracle ending as the Pioneers lost to the Falcons (16-5).
Senior post Clancy Coppinger had a team-high 14 points and senior guard Cole Eldridge had 12 to help Nooksack Valley, the NWC’s third seed, take a seven-point lead going into the final period. Colby Wichers hit a 3-pointer with three seconds left to draw the Pioneers to within one, but that was as close as they would get.
The Pioneers were held to seven points in the fourth quarter as the South Whidbey, the North Sound runnerup, rallied for the win.
South Whidbey 47, Nooksack Valley 46
Nooksack Valley 17 11 11 7—46
South Whidbey 13 7 12 15—47
Nooksack Valley: Matt Pratt 2, Colby Wickers 3, Ryan Veening, Carson Fullner, Cody Coppinger 5, Zach Johnson 2, Clancy Coppinger 14, Keldon Weidkamp 8, Cole Eldridge 12.
South Whidbey: J. Ng 2, N. Young 2, D. Joeinen 8, C. Wrightson 20, K. Nelson 2, S. Patton 2, L. Buck 11.
CLASS 1A DISTRICT 1
Saturday, Feb. 8
Mount Baker 69, Coupeville 48 (loser out)
Monday, Feb. 10
Meridian 77, Cedar Park Christian (Bothell) 49
King’s 83, Mount Baker 42
South Whidbey 47, Nooksack Valley 46
Lynden Christian 87, Sultan 53
Wednesday, Feb. 12
Mount Baker at Cedar Park Christian (Bothell), 7 p.m. (loser out)
Sultan at Nooksack Valley, 7 p.m. (loser out)
Meridian at King’s, 7 p.m.
South Whidbey at Lynden Christian, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 13
Consolation game at higher seed, 7 p.m. (loser out)
Consolation game at higher seed, 7 p.m. (loser out)
Friday, Feb. 14
Championship game at Mount Vernon, 7:30 p.m. (winner first, loser second)
Saturday, Feb. 15
Consolation game at Mount Vernon, 3:45 p.m. (winner fifth, loser out)
Consolation final at Mount Vernon, 7:15 p.m. (winner third, loser fourth)
(Top five advance to Bi-District)
