One did it the easy way and the other did it the hard way, but both the Lynden Christian and Blaine boys basketball teams claimed victories in the District 1/2 crossover playoffs on Saturday, Feb. 19.
The Lyncs dominated Sultan from the outset in claiming an 82-53 win. The Borderites had to go down to the wire with Overlake before pulling out a 51-44 triumph.
By winning the two loser-out contests, Lynden Christian and Blaine advance to the state regionals, which will be played on either Friday or Saturday, Feb. 25 or 26.
Depending on the RPI state rankings and the results of the regional games, the Lyncs and Borderites will be shooting for a place in the state tournament in Yakima, which runs from March 2 through 5.
Here’s a look at Saturday’s game action:
Blaine Hangs On To Beat Overlake For State Berth
Overlake gave Blaine all it could handle on Saturday, but the Borderites took care of business with a 51-44 victory in the District 1/2 crossover playoff at King’s.
The win earned Blaine (13-6) its first state berth since 2004. But it didn’t come easily for the District 1 runner-up against the fourth-place finisher from the Emerald Sound Conference/District 2 tournament.
With less than a minute to go and holding on to a precarious three-point lead, first junior Lucas Smith and then senior Avery Dohner hit two free throws each to ice the game.
Senior Scott Baldwin had 15 points to lead the Borderites and junior Carson Lehnert tossed in three 3-pointers to finish with 12 points. Dohner and junior Matthew Russ added 7 points each, and Smith had 6 points.
The Owls from Redmond finished their season at 14-8.
Blaine 51, Overlake 44
Blaine 14 5 19 13—51
Overlake 11 8 11 14—44
Blaine: Lucas Smith 6, Matthew Russ 7, Ethan Koreski, Jaxon Kortlever, Cole Thomas 4, Scott Baldwin 15, Avery Dohner 7, Carson Lehnert 12.
Overlake: Sanjay Shirolkar, Corin Singh 6, Nathan Kang, Jake Shuey, Jack Wiley 14, Alec Odell 12, Joshua Colleran, Brandon Douvia 6, James Duff 6, Nikita Davis.
Lynden Christian Crushes Sultan For State Berth
District 1 champion Lynden Christian jumped out to an early double-digit lead and Sultan never recovered as the Lyncs won going away, 82-53, in the crossover playoff at King’s High School.
The victory improved LC’s record to 18-1 and earned the Lyncs their seventh straight trip to state and ninth in 10 years (not counting last year’s “unofficial” state tournament). The Lyncs have won two state titles and placed second twice during that span.
On Saturday, it was seniors Andrew Hommes and Crew Bosman who set the pace with 26 and 20 points, respectively. Sophomore Jeremiah Wright pitched in 10 points, and juniors Tyler Sipma and Griffin Dykstra had 8 and 7 points, respectively.
The Turks, who finished fifth in the Emerald Sound Conference/District 2 tournament, ended the season with a 14-9 record.
Lynden Christian 82, Sultan 53
Lynden Christian 22 16 24 20—82
Sultan 10 14 18 11—53
Lynden Christian: Tyler Sipma 8, Griffin Dykstra 7, Dexter Zylstra, Dawson Bouma 5, Jamison Hintz, Crew Bosman 20, Lane Dykstra 2, Kayden Stuit, Andrew Hommes 26, Jeremiah Wright 10, William Colwell 4.
Sultan: Mathew Agnew, Westin Galle 5, Cameron Gundersen 19, Ivan Rodriguez, Kaden Koehler, Chaz Bush, Tyler Sargent 16, Tobias Trichler 7, Avery Brumley, Elias Trichler 6, Tayden Webster.
CLASS 1A DISTRICT 1/2 CROSSOVER
At King’s High School
Saturday, Feb. 19
District 1 #1 Lynden Christian 82, District 2 #5 Sultan 53 (winner to state regionals, loser out)
District 1 #2 Blaine 51, District 2 #4 Overlake 44 (winner to state regionals, loser out)
STATE REGIONALS
Friday and Saturday, Feb. 25 and 26
STATE TOURNAMENT
At Yakima SunDome
Wednesday-Saturday, March 2-5
