The Lynden and Sehome boys basketball teams, the top two seeds in the Class 2A District 1 tournament, opened with impressive victories Friday night, Feb. 11, to move into the semifinals and one step away from berths in the state tournament.
The Lions’ victory came at the expense of the Squalicum boys, who fell into the consolation bracket after Friday’s loss. The Ferndale girls found themselves in the same position in the Class 3A district tournament after being beaten by top-seed Arlington on Friday.
Here’s a look at Friday’s playoff action involving our Class 2A and 3A teams.
2A Boys: Lynden Stops Storm, Sehome Crushes Cedarcrest
The eighth-seeded Squalicum boys put up a fight against No.1-ranked Lynden, but the Lions used a 20-point fourth quarter to pull away for the 64-50 victory in their Class 2A District 1 quarterfinal contest.
Sophomore Anthony Canales had 24 points and 10 rebounds; senior Jordan Medcalf had 16 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals; and senior Dawson Adams added 8 points to lead the Lions (17-2), who will face fourth-seed Lakewood in Monday’s second semifinal at Mount Vernon.
Senior Reed Richardson had a game-high 26 points for Squalicum (7-12), which led 20-17 after the first quarter and was only down by five going into the final period, 44-39. Senior Leyton Smithson had 6 points and was the only other Squalicum player with more than five points.
The Storm also play Monday in a loser-out contest against Anacortes and will have to win three games in a row to qualify for state.
In the other quarterfinal contest Friday involving a Whatcom County team, Sehome (14-5) also found itself behind after one quarter but got its offense rolling and shut down Cedarcrest (8-11) over the final three periods for a 75-49 victory.
Junior Mathew Storms hit five of Sehome’s 11 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 21 points. Junior Grant Kepley had 16 points, junior Grey Garrison had 14 points, and another junior, Isaac Lawrence, hit a pair of 3s for 8 points.
With the win, the Mariners move into Monday’s early semifinal against Burlington-Edison.
The winners of Monday’s semifinals not only advance to the district championship game on Feb. 18 but are guaranteed spots in the state regionals. The semifinal losers will have to win a consolation game on Wednesday and the consolation final on Feb. 18.
Lynden 64, Squalicum 50
Squalicum 20 7 12 11—50
Lynden 17 12 15 20—64
Squalicum: Leyton Smithson 6, Kaleb Hawkinson 5, Dylan Jacobs 3, Nick Watt 2, Trevor Keeley, Kai Posey, Reed Richardson 26, Ashton Engelhart 5, Kyle Heaton, Peter Albert 3.
Lynden: Kaleo Jandoc 3, Coston Parcher 4, Cameron Petersen, Brady Elsner, Jordan Medcalf 16, Max Moore, Trey Smiley 4, Dawson Adams 8, Anthony Canales 24, Kobe Baar 5.
Sehome 75, Cedarcrest 49
Cedarcrest 22 8 10 9—49
Sehome 18 18 22 17—75
Cedarcrest: Jacob Del Degan 7, Luke Rogers 2, Timmy Ojeda-Silva 12, Logan Dice, Maxwell Taibl 10, Tillman Yowell, Jack Le Blanc 11, Isaiah Del Degan 8, Cooper Ayres.
Sehome: Isaac Lawrence 8, Grey Garrison 14, Austin McKay 2, Mathew Storms 21, Braddock Duckworth 3, Gavin Ortega 6, Dane Dominguez 5, Grant Kepley 16.
CLASS 2A DISTRICT 1 TOURNAMENT
Wednesday, Feb. 9
Play-in games
#7 Cedarcrest 49, #10 Sedro-Woolley 46 (loser out)
#8 Squalicum 39, #9 Bellingham 38 (loser out)
Friday, Feb. 11
First round
#2 Sehome 75, Cedarcrest 49
#3 Burlington-Edison 79, #6 Archbishop Murphy 69
#4 Lakewood 61, #5 Anacortes 50
#1 Lynden 64, Squalicum 50
Monday, Feb. 14
Consolation games
Squalicum at Anacortes (loser out)
Cedarcrest at Archbishop Murphy 7 p.m. (loser out)
Semifinals
At Mount Vernon
Sehome vs. Burlington-Edison, 5:30 p.m.
Lynden vs. Lakewood, 7:15 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 16
At Mount Vernon
Consolation games
Consolation winner vs. semifinal loser, 5:30 p.m. (loser out)
Consolation winner vs. semifinal loser, 7:15 p.m. (loser out)
Friday, Feb. 18
At Mount Vernon
Consolation final
Consolation games winners, 5:30 p.m. (winner to state regionals, loser out)
Championship game
Semifinal winners, 7:15 p.m. (both to state regionals)
3A Girls: Ferndale Girls Lose To Third-Ranked Arlington
You know it’s a rough night when the other team has two players who score more points than your entire team. Unfortunately, that’s what happened to Ferndale when the Golden Eagles meet the District 1’s top seed, third-ranked Arlington, in a 65-16 road loss.
Fortunately, the Golden Eagles (10-10) are still alive in the double-elimination tournament. They will travel to Mountlake Terrace on Tuesday, Feb. 15, in a loser-out contest.
Junior Ellie Ochoa had 8 points to lead Ferndale, which managed only three points in each of the final three quarters. For the WesCo champion Eagles (16-2), Keira Marsh and Jenna Villa had 22 points each.
Arlington 65, Ferndale 16
Ferndale 7 3 3 3—16
Arlington 21 18 23 3—65
Ferndale: Tatum Fox, Ellie Ochoa 8, Madisyn Butenschoen, Ashley Lang 4, Mallory Butenschoen, Maleah Singson, Tia Gilday 1, Hannah Barlean 3.
Arlington: Rachel Snow, Maddy Fischer, Hannah Rork 7, Keira Marsh 22, Kalli Rumsey, Samara Morrow 8, Kierra Reese 3, Jersey Walker, Katie Snow 3, Sophie Willis, Macie Butchart, Jenna Villa 22.
CLASS 3A DISTRICT 1 TOURNAMENT
Monday, Feb. 7
First round
#9 Mount Vernon 47, #16 Cascade (Everett) 40 (loser out)
#15 Marysville-Getchell 34, #10 Shorewood 28 (loser out)
#11 Edmonds-Woodway 2, #14 Monroe 0 (forfeit) (loser out)
#12 Shorecrest 49, #13 Oak Harbor 43 (loser out)
#1 Arlington 76, #8 Meadowdale 37
#2 Snohomish 2, #7 Ferndale 0 (forfeit)
#3 Stanwood 66, #6 Mountlake Terrace 29
#4 Everett 51, #5 Lynnwood 32
Wednesday, Feb. 9
Second round
Mountlake Terrace 59, Edmonds-Woodway 40 (loser out)
Ferndale 54, Marysville-Getchell 39 (loser out)
Lynnwood 58, Shorecrest 38 (loser out)
Meadowdale 63, Mount Vernon 52 (loser out)
Friday, Feb. 11
Quarterfinals
Everett 66, Mountlake Terrace 37
Arlington 65, Ferndale 16
Stanwood 57, Lynnwood 39
Snohomish 69, Meadowdale 55
Tuesday, Feb. 15
Ferndale at Mountlake Terrace (loser out)
Meadowdale at Lynnwood (loser out)
Semifinals
Everett at Arlington
Stanwood at Snohomish
Saturday, Feb. 19
Consolation games (winners third, to state regionals, loser out)
Championship game (winner first, loser second, both to state regionals
