The Lynden boys basketball team continued its quest for a fourth straight Class 2A state championship with a workmanlike 51-39 victory over Anacortes in the District 1 semifinals on Saturday, Feb. 15.
The win not only keeps the Lions unbeaten after 23 games, but advances them to the district championship game on Wednesday at 7:45 p.m. at Mount Vernon High School. Top-seeded and top-ranked Lynden will take on second seed Lakewood with the winner earning not only a district title but a berth in the state tournament.
Meanwhile, Squalicum kept its hopes of a state berth alive by defeating city rival Sehome, 59-31, in a consolation game Saturday. In the other consolation game, Bellingham was not as fortunate, losing a 55-54 heart-breaker and season-ender to Archbishop Murphy.
In the Class 3A district tournament, eighth seed Ferndale suffered a 62-42 loss to top seed Edmonds-Woodway and drops into consolation play, where it will take on Marysville-Getchell on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in a loser-out game.
CLASS 2A BOYS
Lynden Going For Title After Shooting Down Seahawks, 51-39
The Lions used their size and physical defense to suffocate the Seahawks and take a commanding 45-27 lead into the fourth period before coasting to victory.
Sophomore Malachi Koenen was the open man Saturday, hitting half of his 10 3-point attempts for a team-high 15 points. Senior Brant Heppner had 13 points and 6 rebounds, and senior Jack Stapleton had 8 points and 11 rebounds as the taller Lions doubled the Seahawks with a 46-23 edge on the boards.
Six different Lions had 2 assists apiece with Koenen leading the way with 3.
It was Lynden’s second victory over Anacortes in the past 10 days, with the Lions winning the Feb. 5 contest, 72-48.
Lynden 51, Anacortes 39
Anacortes 10 7 10 12—39
Lynden 15 15 15 6—51
Anacortes: Houston, Swapp 3, Willoughby, L. Roberts 7, S. Roberts, Andrew 2, Miller, Morgenthaler 9, Cummings 3, Guinn, Dickison 15.
Lynden: Navarre 3, Bedlington 2, Price 2, Bowman 2, Ellis, Mal. Koenen 15, Broersma, Stapleton 8, Jorgenson 4, Heppner 13, Adams 2.
Squalicum Ends Sehome’s Season With 59-31 Thrashing
Both Squalicum and Sehome took a while to get going, but when the Storm finally raged, it overwhelmed the Mariners in the consolation game and sank their season.
Squalicum led by 10 at the half but used a big 19-point fourth quarter to improve to 12-10 and notch its second big victory over Sehome this season. The Storm won their regular-season meeting, 66-46, a week ago.
The Storm will now play Burlington-Edison in a loser-out game on Tuesday at 7:45 p.m. Squalicum lost to the Tigers, 66-60, on Dec. 5 in the midst of an early five-game losing streak. With Saturday’s victory, the Storm have won six of their last seven games.
Sophomore Hunter Calloway and senior Marus Nixon led the way for Squalicum on Saturday, scoring 18 and 17 points, respectively. Calloway had 15 of his points and three of his four 3-pointers in the second half, and Nixon helped Squalicum take its early lead with 12 points in the first half, finishing with 5 assists and 5 steals.
Sophomore Blake Elston had 12 points on four 3-pointers for Squalicum, junior Rhys Knowlton added 7 points all in the second half, senior Ty Hoffman had 9 rebounds, and senior Ezra Nichols had 7 boards.
The juniors led Sehome in its final game. Cole Turrell had 10 points and 8 rebounds; Nolan Wright had 7 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists; and Xavier and Carter Duckworth had 6 points each.
The loss ended Sehome’s season at 6-18 and was the final game for seniors Cooper McAtee and Andre Watson.
Squalicum 59, Sehome 31
Sehome 6 9 12 4—31
Squalicum 12 13 15 19—59
Sehome: Wright 7, Jackson, Tanovan, McAtee, Miller 2, Kelley 6, Watson, Duckworth 6, Turrell 10.
Squalicum: Leslie, Nichols 1, Calloway 18, Nixon 17, Knowlton 7, Hoffmann 2, Elston 12, Savage, Granberg-Kiddle, Tetrick, Truemper 2.
Bellingham Finishes Season With Tough 55-54 Loss
The Bayhawks battled back in the final quarter but couldn’t finish the season on a winning note, falling to Archbishop Murphy in a loser-out game.
Bellingham kept the game close throughout and held the Wildcat to eight points in the final period but couldn’t make the big play at the end.
“It was a tough way to end a season,” said Bellingham coach Brad McKay. “We had our opportunities but couldn’t do enough to win.”
Senior Kincade VanHouten had 12 points to lead the Bayhawks, who lost their final seven games and finished the season 8-14. Senior Harmon Wienkers had 11 points, including three 3-pointers; junior Joe Harward had 10 points; sophomore Cal Van Hofwegen had 8 points; and brother Gabe Van Hofwegen had 7 points.
It was the final game for six seniors — Gabe Van Hofwegen, Van Houten, Wienkers, Fabian Singh, Adrian Gasca, and Evan Isaly.
“I’m really going to miss hanging out in the gym with these seniors,” said McKay. “They always came to the gym with great heart and good attitudes.”
Archbishop Murphy 55, Bellingham 54
Archbishop Murphy 15 13 19 8—55
Bellingham 12 15 15 12—54
Archbishop Murphy: Belleza, Hagen 7, Sievers 9, Rife 16, Love 10, Sears 5, Usui 9.
Bellingham: Wright 4, Isaly, G. Van Hofwegen 7, Harward 10, C. Van Hofwegen 8, VanHouten 12, Singh 2, Wienkers 11.
CLASS 2A BOYS DISTRICT 1 TOURNAMENT
Saturday, Feb. 15
Consolation games
Squalicum 59, Sehome 31 (loser out)
Archbishop Murphy 55, Bellingham 54 (loser out)
Semifinals
At Mount Vernon
Lakewood 60, Burlington-Edison 47
Lynden 51, Anacortes 39
Tuesday, Feb. 18
Consolation games
At Mount Vernon
Archbishop Murphy (9-13) vs. Anacortes (13-9), 6 p.m. (loser out)
Squalicum (12-10) vs. Burlington-Edison (15-7), 7:45 p.m. (loser out)
Wednesday, Feb. 19
At Mount Vernon
Championship game
Lynden (23-0) vs. Lakewood (17-6), 7:45 p.m. (winner first, to state regionals)
Thursday, Feb. 20
At Mount Vernon
Consolation game
7:45 p.m. (loser out)
Saturday, Feb. 22
At Mount Vernon
Consolation final
7 p.m. (winner second, to state regionals, loser out)
CLASS 3A BOYS
Ferndale Falls To No.2 Edmonds-Woodway, 62-42
Edmonds-Woodway showed why it is the second-ranked 3A team in the state by flustering the visiting Golden Eagles in the district quarterfinal matchup.
The loss drops Ferndale to 11-10 on the season but the Golden Eagles are still alive in the double-elimination tournament and can still earn a state berth with two victories starting Wednesday when they travel to Marysville-Getchell for a loser-out contest at 7 p.m.
Senior Jonah Brillowsky led the Golden Eagles with 11 points, junior Mantaj Singh had 10 points, senior Lincoln Thomas had 9 points, and senior Tommy Mack had 7 points.
Top-seeded Edmonds-Woodway, which beat Ferndale in the Warriors’ season-opener at home, 55-38, improved to 22-1. They were led by the 21 points of Cam Hiatt, a transfer who played at King’s where he was a nemesis for Lynden Christian and Blaine in the Class 1A playoffs.
Fifth seed Marysville-Getchell lost to Shorewood on Saturday, 68-62. Should eighth-seeded Ferndale win Wednesday, it would need to beat the loser of the Shorecrest-Monroe semifinal next Saturday at Marysville Pilchuck to earn a state berth.
Edmonds-Woodway 62, Ferndale 42
Ferndale 13 6 17 6—42
Edmonds-Woodway 18 17 23 4—62
Ferndale: Singh 10, Brillowsky 11, Wills 5, Vincent, Thomas 9, Singson, Mack 7, Grewal, Dhillon.
Edmonds-Woodway: Lloyd, Schillinger, Simonsen 3, Williams 9, Hiatt 21, Alseth 17, Boland, Karl 10, Gray 2, Dobson.
CLASS 3A DISTRICT 1 TOURNAMENT
Saturday, Feb. 15
Quarterfinals
#1 Edmonds-Woodway 62, Ferndale 42
#2 Shorecrest 52, Snohomish 43
#3 Monroe 64, Sedro-Woolley 56
#4 Shorewood 68, Marysville-Getchell 62
Wednesday, Feb. 19
Consolation games
Ferndale (11-10) at Marysville-Getchell (15-8), 7 p.m. (loser out)
Snohomish (8-15) at Sedro-Woolley (12-7), 7 p.m. (loser out)
Semifinals
At Marysville-Pilchuck
Shorecrest (20-2) vs. Monroe (17-1), 5 p.m.
Edmonds-Woodway (22-1) vs. Shorewood (15-8), 7 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 22
At Marysville-Pilchuck
Consolation semifinals
noon (winner third, to state regionals, loser out)
4 p.m. (winner third, to state regionals, loser out)
Championship game
8 p.m. (winner first, loser second, both to state regionals)
