The regular season all but wrapped up last week with lots of important games both in the Northwest Conference standings and in seeding for the upcoming district tournaments.
Be sure to check out WhatcomHoops.com on Monday for the district previews as well as all the coverage for our Class 1B, 1A, 2A, and 3A teams as they begin their playoff runs.
GAME OF THE WEEK: The Lynden-Burlington game got all the attention, but the regular-season finale between Sehome and Blaine had even bigger repercussions. Josh Russ had 19 points to lead the Borderites to a 61-57 victory, which clinched the eighth-seed for Blaine in the Class 2A District 1/2 tournament. The loss dropped the Mariners to the ninth seed, which means Sehome has to travel back to Blaine for Wednesday’s loser-out play-in game.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Braedan Hart had 31 points to lift Mount Baker to victory over Coupeville in Saturday’s district play-in game. … Lynden Christian’s Jaden DeBoer had 19 points against Meridian and 18 against Lakewood. … Jordan Medcalf led Lynden with 20 points in a victory over Ferndale. … Jazen Guillory led Ferndale with 17 points against Lynden. … Blaine’s Josh Russ had 22 points against Nooksack Valley and followed that up with 19 against Sehome. … Jackson Short led Meridian with 17 points against Lynden Christian. … Leland Zender had 24 points and 19 rebounds for Squalicum against Lakewood.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: Lynden defeated Blaine on Monday, 88-51, and Ferndale on Wednesday, 85-65, with Clay Kochuten and Liam Hanenburg scoring 18 points each, and Brock Heppner adding 13. The Lions lost to Burlington-Edison in Saturday’s big showdown, 58-49. Medcalf led the Lions with 15 points, Heppner had 13, and Hanenburg had 10.
Sehome beat Ferndale on Monday, 66-65, and Mount Baker on Wednesday, 58-45, before dropping the Mariners’ season-finale against Blaine on Saturday, 61-57.
Lynden Christian beat Meridian on Tuesday, 81-56, thanks to Bryce Bouwman’s 16 points, Andrew DeVries’s 12 and Logan Dykstra’s 10. The Lyncs then rallied in the second half to beat Lakewood on Thursday, 74-62, as seniors DeVries (14), Zach Sipma (11) and Bouwman (10) scored in double figures on Senior Night. Dykstra also added 11 points.
Ferndale lost both its games last week, falling to Sehome on Monday, 66-65, and to Lynden on Wednesday, 85-65, despite Mark Schlichting’s 15 points and 14 from Isaiah Carlson. The Golden Eagles wrap up their season on Monday when they host Anacortes in a game that was postponed because of a weather-related landslide on Feb. 1.
Squalicum beat Lakewood on Tuesday, 67-65, thanks to a near triple-double by Dedrick Mitchell. The senior guard had 18 points, 10 assists and 7 rebounds, and finished off the great night by hitting the game-winner in overtime. The Storm then lost to Burlington-Edison on Thursday, 60-40, despite 11 points from Mitchell and 10 points from Devante Powell.
Blaine lost to Lynden on Monday, 88-51, and then came back to beat Nooksack Valley on Wednesday, 62-49, and Sehome on Saturday, 61-57. Zane Rector had 20 points against the Pioneers and 13 against the Mariners, and Kyle Turnberg added 15 against Sehome.
Meridian lost to Lynden Christian on Tuesday, 81-56, despite Jackson Short’s 17 points, Jordan Veenstra’s 13, and Ryan Johnson’s 10. The Trojans bounced back to beat Bellingham on Thursday, 64-47.
Mount Baker lost to Anacortes on Monday, 66-51, and lost to Sehome on Wednesday, 58-45. As the No.4 Class 1A team from the Northwest Conference, the Mounties had to win a play-in game to get to district, which they did on Saturday when they defeated Coupeville, 69-48, thanks to a dozen points from Garrett Smith.
Nooksack Valley dropped a pair of league games to Burlington-Edison on Monday, 85-50, and to Blaine on Wednesday, 62-49.
Bellingham wrapped up its season with a pair of losses. The Red Raiders fell to Sedro-Woolley on Tuesday, 67-59, and to Meridian on Thursday, 64-47.
Final Standings
NORTHWEST CONFERENCE*
| League | Overall | |||
| W | L | W | L | |
| Burlington-Edison | 13 | 0 | 19 | 1 |
| Lynden | 12 | 1 | 18 | 2 |
| Lynden Christian | 11 | 2 | 16 | 4 |
| Lakewood | 9 | 4 | 12 | 8 |
| Meridian | 7 | 6 | 13 | 7 |
| Squalicum | 7 | 6 | 10 | 10 |
| Anacortes* | 6 | 6 | 10 | 9 |
| Ferndale* | 5 | 7 | 10 | 9 |
| Blaine | 5 | 8 | 11 | 9 |
| Sehome | 5 | 8 | 8 | 12 |
| Sedro-Woolley | 4 | 9 | 9 | 11 |
| Nooksack Valley | 3 | 10 | 9 | 11 |
| Mount Baker | 2 | 11 | 6 | 15 |
| Bellingham | 1 | 12 | 4 | 16 |
* Ferndale and Anacortes finish their regular seasons against each other on Monday.
NORTHWEST 1B LEAGUE
| League | Overall | |||
| W | L | W | L | |
| Lummi Nation | 14 | 0 | 21 | 3 |
| Cedar Park Christian (MLT) | 11 | 3 | 14 | 8 |
| Tulalip Heritage | 10 | 4 | 12 | 7 |
| Grace Academy | 9 | 5 | 11 | 10 |
| Lopez | 5 | 9 | 6 | 13 |
| Orcas Christian | 4 | 10 | 4 | 11 |
| Providence Christian | 2 | 14 | 2 | 15 |
| Shoreline Christian | 1 | 13 | 2 | 15 |
