Coaches like to point out that you can learn a lot from losses, but the Ferndale boys basketball team enjoyed what it learned from its 55-45 victory over visiting Nooksack Valley on Saturday afternoon, Dec. 14.
“It was a huge win for us,” said Ferndale coach Luke DuChesne. “Nooksack is probably going to be a state team. They’ve been playing well. A win helps everyone to lock-in. This is a great group.”
The win came at a good time for the Golden Eagles. Playing a difficult non-league schedule, Ferndale improved to 2-3 but more importantly opened Northwest Conference play with a victory.
“We had energy this game,” said Ferndale junior Mantaj Singh, who finished with 18 points. “It was a conference game. We’ve got a new slate. We’ll use the momentum.”
For the Pioneers, who fell to 3-2 overall and 0-2 in NWC play, it was the second tough road loss in a row. On Wednesday, they fell by one at Lakewood, another school bigger than Class 1A Nooksack.
“It was a good game for us to play,” Nooksack Valley senior Caden Heutink said of playing Class 3A Ferndale. “It will be helpful (in the future) for sure. But we’ll come back hungry. We’ll be ready for Mount Vernon (on Tuesday). I’m already ready.”
It was the Golden Eagles who came out ready on Saturday, jumping to an early lead they would never relinquish. They did it by giving the defensive-minded Pioneers a dose of their own medicine, holding them to only 21 points in the first half and nearly 15 points below their season average for the game.
“It was our best defensive game of the year,” said Ferndale senior Jonah Brillowsky, who had a team-high 19 points. “Our goal is to hold teams under 10 points each quarter. We did a good job of that. We came out ready to play.
Although all the Golden Eagles deserve credit with their man-to-man defense, give senior Hunter Wills some extra credit for having to guard Heutink most of the game. The quick and shifty Nooksack Valley guard didn’t score his first points until two minutes were left in the first half allowing Ferndale to go into halftime with a six-point lead.
“Hunter Wills did a great job on him,” said DuChesne. “He took pride on being called (to guard the other team’s leading scorer). We’re a defensive-minded team. That’s how we’re going to win. We always say offense will take care of itself and tonight it did.”
With the 6-foot-6 Brillowsky and 6-5 Singh leading the way on offense, the Golden Eagles kept the lead near 10 going into the fourth quarter. But despite giving up several inches at almost every position, the Pioneers didn’t give up.
Heutink heated up in the fourth period, eventually eluding the Golden Eagles to score seven of team-high 14 points in the period as Nooksack cut the margin to four several times.
“We’d been shooting the ball well, but not today,” said Nooksack Valley coach Jason Heutink. “Their length bothered us. But the kids never quit. They want to get better. Thank goodness it’s only Dec. 14.”
The last time the Pioneers were able to get within four came with just under five minutes left. Singh scored inside and then, with 3:37 left, came the biggest play of the game.
With the 30-second clock running down, Singh grabbed a missed shot and tossed up a short jumper that went in at the buzzer — or maybe after the buzzer from Nooksack Valley’s point of view. Singh made one of two free throws from the resulting technical and instead of a precarious six-point lead, Ferndale had a 49-40 lead and the ball.
Brillowsky would finish off Nooksack’s comeback hopes with a layup off a Singh pass and two free throws as the Golden Eagles were an outstanding 9 of 11 from the line. In addition to Brillowsky and Singh’s combined 37 points and three 3-pointers, Wills had a big offensive game with 10 points.
With Heutink being hounded all game, junior Cole Coppinger picked up the scoring slack with 13 points, nine coming in the first half when the Pioneers were struggling offensively. Senior Tristan Kamphouse added 6 points, all in the third period to spark the Nooksack rally.
The schedule doesn’t get easier for the Pioneers. After Mount Vernon on Tuesday, they travel to Sedro-Woolley on Thursday, making it three strong 3A teams in a row, two on the road.
The Golden Eagles, meanwhile, play Marysville-Pilchuck in a non-league contest on Tuesday before traveling to Oak Harbor on Wednesday and hosting Lynden on Friday.
Ferndale 55, Nooksack Valley 45
Nooksack Valley 9 12 11 13—45
Ferndale 13 14 12 16—55
Nooksack Valley: Coppinger 13, Olney 4, Heutink 14, Wichers, Kamphouse 6, Silves, D. Ackerman 4, VanBerkum, B. Ackerman 4, Martin.
Ferndale: Singh 18, Brillowsky 19, Wills 10, Vincent 3, Thomas, Mack 5, Dhillon.
