It was a good day for the Lummi Nation boys and girls teams as they turned on the defense for impressive first-round wins in the Class 1B District 1 tournaments played at Lummi on Thursday, Jan. 30.
The top-seeded Lummi Nation boys held Fellowship Christian to four second-quarter points in an easy 66-31 victory, which propelled the Blackhawks into the district championship game on Saturday and earned them a spot in next week’s tri-district tournament.
The third-seeded Lummi Nation girls took care of business in a loser-out contest by defeating Tulalip Heritage, 37-27, and advancing not only into the district semifinals on Saturday but also automatically qualifying for next week’s tri-district tourney.
Lummi Boys Rout Fellowship Christian To Move Into Finals
With a balanced scoring attack that saw all five starters in double figures and a stingy defense that only allowed four players to score, the Blackhawks (20-1) won their 18th straight game by easily beating the Eagles (11-7) for the third time this season.
“There was a lot of energy in the building and our effort and energy was there,” Lummi coach Jerome Toby said of hosting the first-round district games. “Our bench got us going right from the start.”
Junior guard Caleb Revey led the Blackhawks on Thursday with 14 points, freshman guard Duncan Toby added 12, and senior guard Jermaine Toby, sophomore forward Ja’ie Leighton and freshman center Tyran Lane added 10 each.
“Caleb did a good job of leadership and getting everyone involved,” said coach Toby. “We looked like we found a good rhythm on offense.”
Lummi broke away from an 11-point halftime lead with a 22-8 third-quarter blitz that put the game away and allowed coach Toby to empty his bench.
Lummi Nation will square off against rival and second-seed Tulalip Heritage (19-2) in Saturday’s district final at 7:15 p.m. at Marysville-Getchell High School with the winner will get a first-round bye at the tri-district tournament. The two teams split their two games during the regular season.
“With a district championship on the line, it’s going to be a dogfight,” said Toby of facing the defending district champion Hawks. “But no matter who it is, we have to be ready. They are all going to be tough from here on.”
CLASS 1B DISTRICT 1 BOYS TOURNAMENT
Lummi Nation 66, Fellowship Christian 31
Fellowship Christian 11 4 8 8 — 31
Lummi Nation 16 10 22 18 — 66
Fellowship Christian: Go Hardy 8, Vlad Nesterchuk 15, Alvik Orlov 6, Vladik Sapozhnikov 2, Daniel Savchik, Garry Snitko, Tyler Snitko.
Lummi Nation: Miguel Ortez, Caleb Revey 14, William Hetland 2, Duncan Toby 12, Justin Mahle 5, Jermaine Toby 10, Ja’ie Leighton 10, Tristian Revey 3, Tyran Lane 10, Moses Seymour.
First round (Thursday, Jan. 31)
No.1 Lummi Nation 66, No.4 Fellowship Christian 31
No.2 Tulalip Heritage 52, No.3 Cedar Park Christian (Mountlake Terrace) 32
No.5 Orcas Christian 44, No.8 Mount Vernon Christian 41 (loser out)
No.6 Lopez 67, No.7 Grace Academy 46 (loser out)
Second round (Saturday, Feb. 2)
Lopez (8-11) vs. Cedar Park Christian (Mountlake Terrace) (16-6) at Marysville-Getchell
Orcas Christian (8-9) vs. Fellowship Christian (11-7) at Marysville-Getchell
Championship game (Saturday, Feb. 2)
Lummi Nation (20-1) vs. Tulalip Heritage (19-2) at Marysville-Getchell (both to tri-district)
Lummi Nation Girls Sweep Away Tulalip Heritage To Move On
The Lady Blackhawks didn’t let the pressure of a first-round loser-out contest get to them as they only allowed three players to score in beating the Lady Hawks for the third time this season.
The victory puts Lummi Nation (10-4) in the semifinals at 3:30 p.m. Saturday against second-seed Mount Vernon Christian (17-2), which beat Lummi earlier this season. In Saturday’s other semifinal, Lopez squares off against top-seed Grace Academy. Both games are at Marysville-Getchell.
Eighth-grade guard Alesha Solomon came off the bench to lead Lummi with 10 points, and cousins Dezirae Toby and Ashtin Toby had eight and seven points, respectively, as eight different Lady Blackhawks got in the scoring column.
But it was the Lummi defense that was the big difference, holding the Eagles to less than 10 points in each quarter and only five in the decisive final period.
CLASS 1B DISTRICT 1 GIRLS TOURNAMENT
Lummi Nation 37, Tulalip Heritage 27
Tulalip Heritage 8 5 9 5 — 27
Lummi Nation 9 11 8 9 — 37
Tulalip Heritage: Hazel Black Tomahawk, Deachae Jones, Anndraceia Sicade, Jacynta Myles 9, Alice Abran 2, Krislyn Parks 16, Reylynne Jones.
Lummi Nation: Alesha Solomon 10, Raven Solomon 4, Amiya Greene, Connie Grant 1, Rian Greene, Ashtin Toby 7, Jordyn Casimir 2, Dezirae Toby 8, Shelby-Rae Jacobs 3, Alayla Solomon 2, Tressah Toby.
First round (Thursday, Jan. 31)
No.3 Lummi Nation 37, No.6 Tulalip Heritage 27 (loser out)
No.4 Lopez 33, No.5 Shoreline Christian 25 (loser out)
Semifinals (Saturday, Feb. 2)
Lopez (10-6) vs. Grace Academy (12-3) at Marysville-Getchell
Lummi Nation (10-4) vs. Mount Vernon Christian (17-2) at Marysville-Getchell
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.
