It was supposed to be a homecoming of sorts for Blaine boys basketball coach Chas Kok and a lopsided loss for his team.
Instead, the inspired Borderites gave their coach one of their best efforts of the season and gave No.1-ranked Lynden all it could handle before falling, 73-60, on Thursday night, Jan. 23.
“I hope it will show our guys they can play with whoever, if they play with energy and enthusiasm,” said Kok. “They just need to believe in each other, and tonight they did a great job.”
While Thursday’s game certainly was a moral victory, it still dropped the Borderites’ overall record to 3-12 and kept them winless in 11 Northwest Conference games.
Yet, Blaine’s effort impressed another coach — Lynden’s Brian Roper, whose squad improved to 17-0 overall and 11-0 in the NWC.
“They were not intimidated at all,” said Roper of the Borderites. “They competed and executed, and when you’re losing, that’s hard to do. They played with a lot of confidence and are a lot better than they were at the start of the season.”
The compliments meant a lot to Kok, who played for Roper’s first teams at Lynden and was a senior standout on Roper’s first state title team in 2007. Kok later got his first coaching experience helping Roper during the summer and at camps.
“It’s cool to be part of that tradition and fun to see the way he’s evolved as a coach over the years,” Kok said of playing for his mentor. “The one thing I took from Roper was he’s always real level. He wasn’t afraid of difficult conversations, but he did it with love and grace.”
The respect was mutual.
“I am proud of him as a coach, an athletic director, and a father,” said Roper, who has had several former players go on to be varsity head coaches, including Lynden Christian girls coach Brady Bomber, a teammate of Kok’s on the state championship squad. “Our basketball journeys have been connected.”
This wasn’t the first time Roper had faced off with Kok, who coached Burlington-Edison for five years before taking over as Blaine’s AD three years ago. But it was Kok’s first time as the Borderites’ head coach, and he certainly was familiar with the Lions.
“He knows two-thirds of our playbook,” said Roper. “He’d be calling them (Lynden’s plays) out in the game.”
“Let’s just say the scouting report was easy for me this week,” said Kok with a smile.
Whether it was the scouting report or just a fired-up Blaine squad, the Borderites played one of their best games of the season against one of the best teams in the state.
Behind senior Josiah Weeda’s 11 points and two 3-pointers, Blaine jumped out to a 17-7 lead with a minute and a half left in the first quarter. But just when it looked like Lynden was on upset alert, the Lions scored 10 straight points in those last 90 seconds, including junior Brody Price’s 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie the game.
When the Lions outscored Blaine, 18-8, in the second quarter, it looked like it was time for Lynden to pull away for another easy victory. Except someone forget to get the script to the Borderites.
Thanks to junior Landon Melton, who had 11 of his 13 points in the second half, Blaine stayed close, cutting the margin to nine going into the fourth period. Then, when Lynden went up by 17 thanks to two 3-pointers from junior Spencer Adams, Blaine fought back one more time with a 9-0 run and had a chance to cut it to five with three minutes to go.
But the shocking upset was not to be. In the last two-plus minutes, Lynden sophomore Gordy Bedlington sank three of four free throws, senior Jack Stapleton and Adams each sank a free throw, and junior Malachi Bowman put in an offensive rebound to hold off the Borderites.
“We had a lot of energy at the start that we hadn’t had before,” said Melton, who also had 4 rebounds and 3 assists. “And we kept our energy. We weren’t intimidated and we felt like we could win it. This will set the standard for every game.”
Weeda would end up leading Blaine with 20 points and 9 rebounds, senior Dulio Kenagie had 14 points, senior Jacob Dohner had 11 points, and senior Beckum Bleazard had a team-high 4 assists.
Setting the standard for Lynden was Heppner. The senior all-stater had 25 points and 7 rebounds despite a nagging back injury. Joining him was his senior partner, Stapleton, who came off the bench as he recovers from ongoing foot issues and had 12 points and 8 rebounds to help the Lions to a 39-23 advantage on the boards.
Adams added 11 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists; junior Ty Jorgenson added 9 points and 4 rebounds; sophomore Malachi Koenen had 8 points; Bowman had 6 rebounds; and Bedlington had a team-high 7 assists.
“We had some bad stretches, but we hung in there, and stayed together,” said Roper. “We respect every opponent, and Blaine showed why we need to.”
Blaine is in action again on Saturday with a non-league contest at Bear Creek. Lynden doesn’t play again until Monday when the Lions host Mount Baker.
Lynden 73, Blaine 60
Lynden 17 18 19 19—73
Blaine 17 8 20 15—60
Lynden: Navarre, Bedlington 3, Price 3, Bowman 2, Mal. Koenen 8, Stapleton 12, Jorgenson 9, Heppner 25, Adams 11.
Blaine: Dahl 2, Bleazard, Kenagie 14, Melton 13, Brown, Dohner 11, Weeda 20.






































