It won’t be the trophy they wanted, but the Lynden Christian boys are happy they will be earning one Saturday.
The top-ranked Lyncs, who had their dream of a second straight state title end Thursday, took out their frustrations on Seattle Academy with a 75-39 victory in consolation play at the Class 1A state tournament Friday afternoon.
Lynden Christian (25-1) will play Bellevue Christian (18-8) at 9:30 a.m. Saturday with the winner earning fourth place and the loser sixth. It will be a rematch of a holiday tournament game the Lyncs won, 77-39.
For updated stories and pictures from the 1A and 2A state tournaments, visit www.whatcomhoops.com. And for more pictures, be sure to check out the Whatcom Hoops Facebook page.
“It was probably the biggest setback of their young lives,” said LC coach Roger DeBoer of Thursday’s quarterfinal loss to King’s, “and 16 hours later respond the way they did? What a statement they made.”
If there was any doubt that the Lyncs had put Thursday’s quarterfinal loss behind them, it was over by the first quarter when LC came out firing on all cylinders, scoring 17 of the game’s first 19 points, and taking a 27-8 lead.
And just in case the outmanned Cardinals (19-5) had any thoughts of getting back into the game, the Lyncs tagged on a 30-8 second quarter to go up 57-16 at the half.
So at halftime, Lynden Christian had already scored seven more points than it had in Thursday’s game.
“We realized we had a statement to make, that we’re not going to lie down,” said junior guard Andrew DeVries, who hit five 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 22 points. “Our fans were phenomenal, showing us love (after the loss). We did it for them.”
DeVries, who was held scoreless Thursday, had 19 points by halftime. All-state guard Cole Bajema, who only had four points Thursday, had all of his 14 points and eight of his team-high 12 rebounds in the first half.
After the first two periods’ offensive explosion, all that was left was to watch the LC cheerleaders’ halftime show and give everybody playing time in the second half.
Cole Langstraat added nine points, and Zach Sipma and Jaden DeBoer had eight and seven points, respectively, off the bench as nine different Lyncs scored.
“This was uncharted territory for this group of guys,” said coach DeBoer, noting that the Lyncs 51-2 record the past two seasons marked the most successful two-year span in the storied boys basketball history of Lynden Christian. “They’ve left an amazing legacy. Now we want to go out well (Saturday) for the seniors.”
DeVries mentioned someone else the Lyncs wanted to glorify when they finish their season on Saturday.
“A state championship doesn’t define us,” said DeVries, who played a big part in the Lyncs winning last year’s state title. “We’ll look back at the memories, and how we showcased our love for Jesus.”
Lynden Christian 75, Seattle Academy 39
Seattle Academy 8 8 12 11 — 39
Lynden Christian 27 30 6 12 — 75
Seattle Academy: Teja Singh 10, Leo DeBruhl 10, Andrzej Domanski 2, Joe Cookson 7, Logan Britt 4, Lewis Walsh 2, Tyler Carter, Brady Doran 2, Eddie Hulit, Redi McCaw, Bunker Risse 2, Isard Allnut.
Lynden Christian: Bryce Bouwman 4, Tanner Feenstra, Brevin Zylstra, Jaden DeBoer 7, Zach Sipma 8, Cole Langstraat 9, Andrew DeVries 22, Cole Bajema 14, Jake Libolt 4, Luke Bos 4, Cristian Colwell 3.
Shooting: FG—SA 17-56 30.4, LC 26-52 50.0; FT—SA 2-5 40.0, LC 14-22 63.6; 3 PT—3-21 14.3 Singh 2, Cookson 1), LC 9-22 (DeVries 5, Langstraat 1, Bajema 1, DeBoer 1, Sipma 1). Rebounds: SA 21 (Cookson 6), LC 45 (Bajema 12).
Fouls: SA 14, LC 8. Assists: SA 8 (DeBruhl 4), LC 16 (Bajema 3, DeBoer 3). Turnovers: SA 8, LC 10. Blocks: SA 4 (Cookson 2), LC 0. Steals: SA 4, LC 3 (Bajema 1, Bos 1, Sipma 1).
CLASS 1A BOYS STATE TOURNAMENT
(With RPI rankings)
Regionals (Friday)
#9 Royal 57, #15 Cascade Christian 45 (loser out)
Regionals (Saturday)
#2 La Center 63, #7 Deer Park 46
#12 Bellevue Christian 58, #13 Seton Catholic 48 (loser out)
#1 Lynden Christian 79, #8 Connell 53
#11 King’s Way Christian 71, #14 Overlake 52 (loser out)
#3 Zillah 84, #6 Cashmere 56
#5 Seattle Academy 65, #4 Okanogan 62
#10 King’s 65, vs. #16 Naches Valley 55 (loser out)
At Yakima SunDome
State play-in games (Wednesday)
King’s Way Christian 67, Cashmere 52 (loser out)
King’s 77, Deer Park 40 (loser out)
Bellevue Christian 61, Okanogan 52 (loser out)
Connell 43, Royal 40 (loser out)
Quarterfinals (Thursday)
King’s Way Christian 49, Seattle Academy 39
King’s 73, Lynden Christian 50
Zillah 58, Bellevue Christian 51 (23-1)
LaCenter 68, Connell 45 (22-2)
Consolation semifinals (Friday)
Lynden Christian 75, Seattle Academy 39 (loser out)
Bellevue Christian 60, Connell 48 (loser out)
Semifinals (Friday)
King’s Way Christian 42, King’s 41
Zillah 64, LaCenter 59
Fourth-sixth place game (Saturday)
Lynden Christian (25-1) vs. Bellevue Christian (18-8), 9:30 a.m. (winner fourth, loser sixth)
Consolation final (Saturday)
King’s (21-6) vs. LaCenter (23-3), 1 p.m. (winner third, loser fifth)
Championship game (Saturday)
King’s Way Christian (18-8) vs. Zillah (25-1), 5 p.m. (winner first, loser second)
(Full schedule and bracket at nwcathletics.com)
Jim Carberry is a former Bellingham Herald sports editor and author of several books on Whatcom County prep basketball. Follow him on Twitter @whatcomhoops and visit the Whatcom Hoops Facebook page.
