The Lynden boys basketball team stayed true to itself and it paid off with a convincing 66-56 victory over Lynden Christian in their crosstown rivalry game before a packed crowd at Jake Maberry Gymnasium on Saturday night, Feb. 1.
“We want to be us,” said Lynden coach Brian Roper. “We wanted to slow the game down. If you play at LC’s pace, it’s not going to end well.”
It certainly ended well for the Lions, who are the three-time Class 2A defending state champions and once again ranked No.1. The victory raised their overall record to 19-0 and kept them atop the Northwest Conference with a 13-0 record.
For the Lyncs, who came in as the No.3-ranked 1A team in the state, the loss dropped them to 17-2 overall and 12-1 in the NWC.
“Nothing changes for us,” said Lynden Christian coach Tim Zylstra. “This game means a lot as crosstown rivals. But both teams will get better because of this game.”
The Lynden girls used depth and defense to defeat Lynden Christian in their big game Saturday afternoon. Check out the story at Lynden girls win.
From the opening minutes — when Lynden went up 8-0 — until the final six minutes, the Lions controlled the game by doing what they do best: slow the tempo, play physical defense, and crash the boards. The result was a double-digit lead that was 16 at the half and still 15 with six minutes left.
Lynden’s size with three starters and two reserves taller than LC’s tallest player, was a big factor. All-stater Brant Heppner at 6-foot-6 had 17 points and 14 rebounds, 6-foot-7 Jack Stapleton had 13 points, and 6-foot-5 guard Spencer Adams had 9 points and 7 rebounds as Lynden outrebounded the Lyncs, 37-26.
But the Lions also got an unexpected bonus: beating the Lyncs at their own game — shooting 3-pointers. The Lions hit nine 3s to LC’s 8 with sophomore Malachi Koenen making four and freshman Jayden Navarre coming off the bench to make two. Koenen would finish with 13 points and Navarre with 6.
“It was really fun,” said Koenen, who has played with and is related to LC brothers Gannon and Gunnar Dykstra. “My teammates have confidence in me and tonight the shots went in.”
“We knew they’d beat us on the boards,” said Zylstra. “But they made shots with guys we didn’t expect. And we didn’t shoot well in the first half.”
If Lynden got points from unexpected places, the opposite was true for Lynden Christian.
The Lyncs were held to 24 points below their scoring average in part because of Lynden’s tenacious man-to-man defense but also because two of their leading scorers — Gunnar Dykstra and senior Luke Van Kooten — were recovering from sickness and had to sit much of the game. The two combine to average 24 points a game but went scoreless Saturday, only taking four shots.
“We have a couple of guys under the weather … but that’s no excuse,” said Zylstra. “They (the Lions) outplayed and outhustled us. But I was proud of the way we fought to the end.”
Despite Lynden’s defense, despite looking at a 15-point deficit much of the night, despite having only three players — yes, only three — score, somehow the Lyncs fought to the end and made it a game.
When Lynden point guard Gordy Bedlington fouled out with 6:05 left, LC’s frantic, trapping defense finally began to take its toll. Behind senior Gannon Dykstra, who had 10 of his game-high 27 points in the fourth quarter, the Lyncs cut the margin to 61-56 on sophomore Kaden Veldman’s layup with 1:05 left.
When a diving Gannon Dykstra came up with a loose ball with a chance to cut the gap to two, it was the perfect script for the miracle comeback. But it was not to be.
Heppner stole the ball back and was fouled with 37 seconds left. He hit one free throw, then hit two more with 24 seconds left. And when Stapleton hit two more with 15 seconds left, the Lions had held on for the win.
“We shot the ball well early and fortunately, we built a sizable enough lead to sustain their runs,” said Roper. “They’re a team of runs. Gannon is as good a point guard as I’ve seen in this conference. We have a lot of respect for their staff and players. If we played again the score could be flipped.”
The other hero for LC was guard Dawson Hintz. Not only was he called on to score, finishing with 23 points and five 3-pointers, but he was tasked with guarding Heppner, who was a half-foot taller.
“I love guarding the best players on the other team,” said Hintz. “I have a lot of respect for him (Heppner). I knew I’d have to work my butt off. By the end, we were both dripping with sweat.”
Gannon Dykstra had LC’s other three 3-pointers in addition to 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals; Hintz had a team-high 5 assists, Veldman was the only other Lync to score, finishing with 6 points and 11 rebounds; and junior Boyce Robertson had 3 assists.
For Lynden, Bedlington had 7 points and 3 assists, Stapleton and Koenen had 4 assists each, and Navarre added 4 rebounds and 3 assists.
Despite the loss, Hintz was able to see the big picture.
“We haven’t had many competitive games especially in front of this big a crowd,” said Hintz. “We felt good that we didn’t give up, and we fought back. It gets us ready for the playoffs … ready for state.”
Both teams finish the regular season with tough games next week. Lynden Christian hosts Lakewood on Tuesday and Ferndale on Thursday, while Lynden is at Anacortes on Tuesday and hosts Nooksack Valley on Friday.
Besides being a city rivalry game, it also was a Coaches Versus Cancer contest, when the NWC teams honor cancer survivors and raise funds for cancer research. The honorary coaches were Kendra (Victor) Hogue, a former Lynden player and daughter of Lions assistant coach Kent Victor, and Kathy Wubben, an LC alum and parent.
At halftime, Lynden also honored its 2025 Athletic Hall of Fame inductees: three-sport star Derric Croft, who led the 1991 Lions to the basketball state title; three-sport star Missy (Clark) VanderYacht, who helped the 1991 Lions reach the state championship game; and the late Robert Young, who played basketball for the Lions and was an all-American rower for the University of Washington in 1950.
Lynden 66, Lynden Christian 56
Lynden Christian 12 11 17 16—56
Lynden 18 21 14 13—66
Lynden Christian: Hintz 23, Gu. Dykstra, Ahlers, Maberry, Robertson, Ga. Dykstra 27, Van Kooten, Veldman 6.
Lynden: Navarre 6, Bedlington 7, Price, Bowman, Mal. Koenen 13, Stapleton 12, Jorgenson 2, Heppner 17, Adams 9.








































