LC Girls, Boys And Rest Of County Teams Enjoying Holiday Tournaments

It was all smiles for the Lyncs at the Lynden Christmas Classic as the top-rated Lynden Christian boys and girls basketball teams completed a successful sweep in one of the many holiday tournaments this week.

In the Lynden Christmas Classic, the defending 1A state champion Lyncs defeated defending 3A state champion Gig Harbor, 56-41, in a hard-fought battle to highlight the girls action on Friday, Dec. 28. Isabella Hernandez led the way with 13 points.

On Thursday, the undefeated Lyncs swept away 2A power White River, 71-34, with Riley Dykstra scoring 18, Lexi Hernandez having 13, and Grace Sterk adding 10.

For photos from Friday night’s Lynden Christian boys and girls games, see the www.whatcomhoops.com Facebook page.

On the boys side, the host Lyncs stayed unbeaten by outclassing 1 A rival Bellevue Christian, 77-36, on Friday. Cole Bajema had 20 and Jaden DeBoer added 12, Andrew DeVries 11, and Cole Langstraat 10.

On Thursday, the unbeaten Lyncs had to step up their game to outlast 4A power Glacier Peak, 66-60, behind the 35 of Bajema and 13 of Luke Bos.

The Lyncs weren’t the only locals to have fun in holiday tournaments this week. Here are the tournament scores for the Whatcom County squads playing in the county, around the state and far, far away.

LYNDEN CHRISTMAS CLASSIC

Besides the host Lyncs, there were three county girls teams and one boys team at the tournament sponsored by Cloud 9 Sports and played at both Lynden Christian and Lynden high schools.

On the girls side (Thursday games first), Meridian stunned Gig Harbor, 75-58, and beat Montesano, 47-39; Sehome clobbered Mariner, 56-22, and lost to Bellevue Christian, 50-36; and Ferndale topped Tahoma, 59-37, and fell to White River, 66-61.

Other Thursday girls scores were Bellevue Christian 61, Montesano 40; and Port Angeles 66, De La Salle North Catholic (Ore.) 13. Other Friday scores were De La Salle 42, Mariner 30; and Port Angeles 74, Tahoma 39.

On the boys side (Thursday games first), Sehome ran its winning streak to seven games by edging Monroe, 67-63, and beating Mariner, 61-52.

Other Thursday boys scores were Bellevue Christian 72, Montesano 71; and Mariner 77, De La Salle 58. Other Friday scores were Montesano 61, Monroe 54; and De La Salle 62, Glacier Peak 60.

BLAINE HOLIDAY INVITE

The Blaine boys and girls teams also proved to be great hosts off the court but not-so-generous hosts on the court as the Borderite squads swept both their games in their tournament.

See the story on the Blaine Holiday Invite on www.whatcomhoops.com, and for photos from Thursday’s Blaine boys and girls games, check out the www.whatcomhoops.com Facebook page.

The Blaine boys took it to Lynnwood, 68-58, on Thursday, and then clobbered Granite Falls, 73-45, on Friday. The Blaine girls had little trouble with University Prep, 39-17, on Thursday, and then held off Shorewood, 38-32, on Friday.

The Mount Baker boys split their two games in the tournament, knocking off Tulalip Heritage, 69-49, on Thursday and falling to Lynnwood, 62-52, on Friday.

Lummi Nation was the only other local boys team, and the Blackhawks pounded Granite Falls, 51-36, on Thursday, their only day at the tournament. (They would go on to an even more impressive 62-56 victory over Meridian in a non-league game on Friday.)

Bellingham was the only other local girls team in the tourney, and the Red Raiders fell to Lynnwood on Thursday, 43-38, before bouncing back to knock off University Prep, 43-30, on Friday.

In the other girls games, Shorewood beat Renton, 30-28, on Thursday, and Renton topped Lynnwood, 51-46, on Friday.

SUNDOME SHOOTOUT

If the top-ranked Lynden boys wanted a tune-up for the 2A state tournament in Yakima’s SunDome, they showed the rest of the state they were hitting on all cylinders at one of Washington’s biggest holiday tournaments.

The Lions crushed 1A power Zillah, 90-64, on Thursday, and then came back with an even bigger victory over 2A title contender Selah, 68-41, on Friday.

The Bellingham boys also got a chance to face some strong competition, losing to perennial 2A contender Mark Morris, 74-50, and to 4A West Valley of Yakima, 63-36, on Friday.

CRUSH IN THE SLUSH TOURNAMENT

The Ferndale boys and Squalicum girls traveled to Port Townsend High School for the 14-team tournament.

The Golden Eagles lost a tough one to Sequim, 61-60, on Friday before bouncing back to sink Friday Harbor, 55-43, on Saturday.

The Storm took it to 4A Battle Ground, 45-38, on Friday and dropped its finale to 4A Auburn, 44-20, on Saturday.

SAN DIEGO SURF ’N SLAM TOURNAMENT

The Lynden girls had a chance to soak up some sun and play with the bigger schools at the prestigious tournament at Mission Bay High School. On Thursday, they lost to 4A power Puyallup, 68-37, and on Friday, the Lions came back with a 51-33 victory over 3A Ballard. 

On Saturday afternoon, the Lynden girls knocked off Overlake, 56-46, to take fourth place in the “Slam” Division, which featured teams from three states and British Columbia.

STERLING CHRISTMAS SHOOTOUT

The Squalicum boys were at the three-day tournament at Kennedy High School in Seattle. The Storm lost to Fife, 64-57, on Wednesday, and lost to the host Lancers, 55-50, on Thursday.

The Storm bounced back to take seventh place by crushing Cascade Christian, 59-38, on Friday.

Jim Carberry of Whatcom Hoops

Author
Jim Carberry is a former Bellingham Herald sports editor and author of several books on Whatcom County prep basketball. Follow him on Twitter @whatcomhoops and visit the Whatcom Hoops Facebook page.

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