In a pair of boys basketball battles between Northwest Conference rivals, Blaine defeated Sehome, 65-53, in a Class 2A District 1/2 play-in game, and Meridian outran Nooksack Valley, 71-47, in a Class 1A District 1 consolation game on Thursday, Feb. 13.
With its victory, Blaine moves on to the double-elimination portion of the 2A tournament and will go on the road to face top-seed and No.1-ranked Burlington-Edison on Saturday at 7 p.m. For Sehome, Thursday’s game was the end of the road, ending the Mariners’ season.
The county’s other 2A entry, second-seed Lynden, will host Cedarcrest on Saturday at 7 p.m.
For Meridian, the win guarantees the Trojans a spot in next week’s Bi-District 1/2 tournament. They will finish the district tournament by playing for third and fourth places on Saturday against Cedar Park Christian (Bothell) at 7:15 p.m. at Mount Vernon High School.
Nooksack Valley, however, is still alive and will play South Whidbey on Saturday at 3:45 p.m. at Mount Vernon. The winner will take the district’s fifth and final berth into the bi-district tournament; the loser’s season will be over.
Lynden Christian will play for the district championship against King’s on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Mount Vernon.
2A: Borderites Start Fast, Hold Off Mariners
Blaine (12-9) jumped out to a 10-point first-quarter lead and made it stand up the rest of the way to beat Sehome (8-13) in the loser-out contest.
Four different Borderites hit 3-pointers as Blaine went up 20-10 after the first period. Junior guard Josh Russ had 14 of his 15 points in the first half, and junior guard Kyle Turnberg had 8 of his 10 in first two periods.
Senior guard Zane Rector took over from there, hitting three of his four 3-pointers and 13 of his team-high 16 points in the second half. Sophomores Cole Thomas and Scott Baldwin added 8 and 6 points, respectively, for the Borderites.
“Our guys battled and showed great resolve tonight,” said Blaine coach Brett Farrar. “It was a game of runs, and we just happened to get one more than they did.”
Junior wing Elliott Tannovan led the Mariners with 17 points and three 3-pointers. Junior post Jake Ortega had 14 points, and junior guard Micah Daheim had 10 points and the Mariners’ other two 3-pointers.
Blaine won, 61-57, in both teams’ regular-season finale to earn the eighth-seed and the right to host ninth-seed Sehome on Thursday.
Blaine 65, Sehome 53
Sehome 10 15 17 11—53
Blaine 20 15 15 15—65
Sehome: Elliot Tannovan 17, Nick MacPhee 4, Micah Daheim 10, Connor Hoeman 1, Jake Ortega 14, Gavin Ortega 4, Dane Dominguez 3.
Blaine: Kyle Turnberg 10, Josh Russ 15, Zane Rector 16, Jaxon Kortlever, Cole Thomas 8, Scott Baldwin 6, Mason Vega 2, Josh Audette 3, Bailey Bleazard, Ben Arps 3, Ethan Koreski 2.
CLASS 2A DISTRICT 1/2
Thursday, Feb. 13
Anacortes 66, Sedro-Woolley 55 (loser out)
Cedarcrest 65, Archbishop Murphy 56 (loser out)
Liberty 61, Sammamish 41 (loser out)
Blaine 65, Sehome 53 (loser out)
Saturday, Feb. 15
Cedarcrest at #2 Lynden, 7 p.m.
Blaine at #1 Burlington-Edison, 7 p.m.
Liberty at #4 Lakewood, 7 p.m.
Anacortes at #3 Mountlake Terrace, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 18
Semifinals at Mount Vernon HS
Consolation games at Mount Vernon Christian (loser out)
Thursday, Feb. 20
Consolation games at Mount Vernon HS (loser out)
Consolation game at Mount Vernon HS (loser out)
Saturday, Feb. 22
Consolation final at Mount Vernon HS (winner third, to regionals; loser out)
Championship final at Mount Vernon HS (winner first, loser second; both to regionals)
1A: Trojans Back On Track, Run Past Pioneers
A day after one of their worst offensive performances of the season, Meridian (15-7) got its shooters back on track with a dominating performance against Nooksack Valley (10-13).
Jackson Short led the way for Meridian with 26 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Ryan Johnson hit three 3-pointers and finished with 15 points, Jordan Veenstra added 9 points and Corey Hemenway had 7 for the Trojans.
The Trojans only had one field goal in the fourth quarter, but put the game away by hitting 13 of 14 free throws, including 6-of-6 by Short, and limiting the Pioneers to only six points.
The Pioneers were led by Cole Eldridge’s 17 points, including a trio of 3-pointers. The Coppinger brothers also were in double figures with junior Cody collecting 16 points and senior Clancy adding 10.
But Nooksack Valley didn’t help itself at the line, where the Pioneers missed 11 of their 17 free throws.
Meridian 71, Nooksack Valley 47
Nooksack Valley 15 9 17 6—47
Meridian 23 15 18 15—71
Nooksack Valley: Matt Pratt, Colby Wickers, Ryan Veening, Carson Fullner 1, Cody Coppinger 16, Zach Johnson 3, Clancy Coppinger 10, Keldon Weidkamp, Easton Zylstra, Cole Eldridge 17, Dawson Kimball.
Meridian: Ryan Johnson 15, Andrew Kuljis, Corey Hemenway 7, Eli Hayrynen, Braiden Blackwelder 2, Trent Martin, Jackson Short 26, Daniel Short, Trey Naidu 4, Jordan Veenstra 9, Joseph Plagerman 5, Ethan Brooks 3.
CLASS 1A DISTRICT 1
Thursday, Feb. 13
Meridian 71, Nooksack Valley 47
Cedar Park Christian (Bothell) 64, South Whidbey 23
Friday, Feb. 14
Lynden Christian vs. King’s at Mount Vernon, 7:30 p.m. (winner first, loser second)
Saturday, Feb. 15
Nooksack Valley at South Whidbey at Mount Vernon, 3:45 p.m. (winner fifth, loser out)
Meridian vs. Cedar Park Christian (Bothell) at Mount Vernon, 7:15 p.m. (winner third, loser fourth)
(Top five advance to Bi-District)
