Whatcom Hoops: Boys Week 2 Recap (Dec. 6-11)

With all the Northwest Conference teams and Lummi Nation finally getting on the court this past week, it looks like the Whatcom County teams will again be in the thick of the battle for a league championship.

Lynden Christian, Sehome, and Lynden are three of the four NWC teams that are still undefeated after the first two weeks and Meridian is right behind at 3-1.

For a look back at Week 2 for our county girls team, check out Whatcom Hoops girls recap.

Here are the boys highlights from Week 2.

GAME OF THE WEEK

Down by six with less than four minutes left, Meridian rallied to knock off host Sedro-Woolley, 53-52, in a thriller on Thursday. Jaeger Fyfe’s 3-pointer and a put-back with 13 seconds left cut the Cubs’ lead to one. After a Hunter Jones steal, senior Tucker Harrison was fouled and sank two free throws for a one-point Meridian lead with four seconds left. The Cubs had one last chance, but Harrison hustled the length of the court to swat away a layup attempt and save the day for the Trojans. “Tucker Harrison’s play to end the game was the finest hustle play I think I have ever seen,” said Meridian coach Shane Stacy.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Ferndale’s Jesse Sapp had 24 points on Monday and followed that with 19 on Tuesday. Fellow senior Jazen Guillory added 22 points on Monday for the Golden Eagles. … Lynden Christian sophomore Jeremiah Wright had a game-high 22 points against Sedro-Woolley, and junior Tyler Sipma had 22 points, including four 3-pointers, against Squalicum. All-stater Andrew Hommes had 20 for the Lyncs on Saturday against Seattle Academy. … Bellingham junior Henry Sheldrup had 22 points on Monday and 19 on Wednesday. … Reed Richardson led Squalicum with 21 points on Wednesday and fellow senior Kai Posey had 20 for the Storm in Monday’s opener. … Blaine senior Cole Thomas had 20 points on Monday. … Senior Tyran Lane had 20 points in Lummi Nation’s season-opener on Tuesday. … Junior Grey Garrison had 18 points in each of Sehome’s two victories.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK

Lynden Christian defeated Sedro-Woolley on Tuesday, 90-38; Squalicum on Wednesday, 80-46; and Seattle Academy, 71-63, on Saturday.  Against the Cubs, Wright led the scoring barrage with 22 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, junior Griffin Dykstra and senior Crew Bosman had 16 points each, and Hommes had 13 points. Sipma led the offense against the Storm with Dykstra and Bosman adding 13 points each, Hommes collecting 10, and seniors Jamison Hintz and William Colwell scoring 9 each. In the non-league showdown between Class 1A powers, Colwell scored 10 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter as the Lyncs pulled away from a 58-all tie to top Seattle Academy. LC also got 20 points from Hommes, 15 from Sipma and 9 from Bosman.

Sehome stayed unbeaten with two impressive victories — 75-53 over Blaine on Monday, and 76-56 over Ferndale on Thursday.  Against Blaine, Garrison had 18 points and senior Gavin Ortega added 17 points. Against the Golden Eagles, the Mariners jumped out to a 15-0 lead and built a 32-point margin in the fourth quarter. Besides Garrison’s 18 points, junior Mathew Storms had 16 as five Mariners were in double figures.

Meridian defeated Mount Baker on Monday, 54-50, and Sedro-Woolley on Thursday, 53-52. Against the Mounties, freshman Fyfe led the balanced Trojans attack with 11 points and junior Jones had 10 as the Trojans scored 21 points in the fourth period to hold off the Mounties despite 30 turnovers. Buoyed by the bench, the Trojans rallied to beat Sedro-Woolley behind the 11 points of seniors Daniel Short and Owen Hughes, who also had a team-high 6 rebounds, and the 8 points and 10 steals of Jones.

Lynden opened its season on Friday with a dominating 67-20 victory over Bellingham. Senior Dawson Adams and sophomore Anthony Canales led the Lions with 16 points each, and senior Jordan Medcalf and junior Coston Parcher had 13 points each. Lynden also rescheduled games that were postponed because of the football playoffs. The Lions will be at Arlington on Dec. 30 and at home against Mount Vernon on Jan. 19.

Ferndale defeated Nooksack Valley on Monday, 73-35; lost to Arlington on Tuesday, 80-72; and fell to Sehome on Thursday, 76-56. On Monday, Sapp and Guillory combined for 46 points and senior Luke Wells had 9 points as the Golden Eagles scored 42 first-half points to notch their first win. Against Arlington, Ferndale hit 10 3-pointers but it wasn’t enough. Sapp had 19 points, Guillory 13, and senior Mark Schlicting 11. Against Sehome, senior Sean Morrison led Ferndale with 11 points, and Guillory and Wells had 10 each.

Lummi Nation opened its season at home on Tuesday losing to Nooksack Valley, 64-53. The Blackhawks scored 22 points in the second quarter but couldn’t keep up with the Class 1A Pioneers. In addition to Lane’s 20 points, fellow senior Duncan Toby had 11 points, and junior Richard Wilson added 8.

Bellingham lost to Burlington-Edison on Monday, 65-54; beat Meadowdale on Wednesday, 59-47; and lost to Lynden on Friday, 67-20. Against the Tigers, Sheldrup had 22 points and sophomore Ian O’Roarty added 10. On Wednesday, the Bayhawks jumped out early and pulled away for the victory as Sheldrup had a team-high 19 points, sophomore Wyatt Stephan had 15, and senior Thomas Mathews added 11 points. Mathews finished with 6 points to led the Bayhawks against Lynden.

Squalicum dropped its opener to Oak Harbor, 59-47, on Monday, and fell to Lynden Christian on Wednesday, 80-46. In its opener, the Storm rallied from 22 down in the second half to cut the margin to six. Besides Posey’s 20 points, Richardson had 10, and junior Xander Sledge had 6 in his first varsity game. Against the Lyncs, Richardson led the Storm with 21 points, fellow senior Trevor Keeley added 13, and the two had a pair of 3-pointers each.

Nooksack Valley lost its opener to Ferndale on Monday, 73-35; beat Lummi Nation on the road on Tuesday, 64-53; and lost to Bear Creek on Wednesday, 55-48, and to Anacortes on Friday, 50-37.  Freshman Brady Ackerman started his high school career by leading the Pioneers in scoring with 8 points against Ferndale, and junior Ayden Roper added 7 points. Against the Blackhawks, junior Bennett DeLange and sophomore Joey Brown led a balance attack with 12 points each and Roper hit three 3-pointers for 9 points. Freshman Colton Lentz had 9 points and freshman Caden Heutink, DeLange and Ackerman had 7 each as the Pioneers rallied for 21 fourth-quarter points but couldn’t catch Bear Creek. Against Anacortes, Nooksack Valley’s lone senior, Dawson Kimball, led the team with 11 points, and DeLange added 7.

Mount Baker lost to Meridian on Monday, 54-50; to Mount Vernon on Wednesday, 59-37; and to Friday Harbor on Saturday, 50-47. The Mounties put up a 23-point fourth quarter against the Trojans, but couldn’t finish the comeback. Senior Davin Beason had 12 points, senior Caleb Horsmon and sophomore Jesse Harward had 11 points each, and senior Draven Davis had 9 points. Against the Bulldogs, Davis had a team-high 12 points and a pair of 3-pointers, and Harward had 10 points.

Blaine lost to Sehome on Monday, 75-54; to Burlington-Edison on Thursday, 61-59; and to Lake Stevens on Saturday, 58-46. Seniors Thomas and Scott Baldwin led the Borderites on Monday with 20 and 14 points, respectively. On Thursday, Blaine put up a 21-point fourth quarter but came up short against the Class 2A Tigers. Thomas led the balanced Borderites attack with 12 points, Baldwin had 11, and junior Matthew Russ added 10 points. Thomas added 15 points and junior Lucas Smith and senior Jaxon Kortlever had 8 points each in the non-league loss to Class 4A Lake Stevens.

WEEK 3

TOP GAMES

Besides being rivalry games, the Bellingham-Sehome boys and girls doubleheader at Sehome on Thursday will be an exciting event showing off the talents of not only their basketball teams but their cheer squads, bands, drum corps, dance teams, etc. The girls game starts at 6 p.m. and the boys follow at 7:35 p.m.

SCHEDULE

Monday, Dec. 13: Ferndale at Anacortes, Nooksack Valley at Lakewood, Sedro-Woolley at Squalicum, Lummi Nation at Lopez Island

Tuesday, Dec. 14: Lynden at Mount Baker, Oak Harbor at Lynden Christian, Mount Vernon at Meridian, Sehome at Burlington-Edison

Wednesday, Dec. 15: Concrete at Lummi Nation, Bellingham at Blaine

Thursday, Dec. 16: Bellingham at Sehome, Blaine at Mount Vernon, Lakewood at Ferndale, Meridian at Lynden, Mount Baker at Squalicum, Grace Academy at Lummi Nation

Friday, Dec. 17: Lynden Christian at Nooksack Valley

Saturday, Dec. 18: Eastlake at Lynden, Ferndale at Lake Stevens, Enumclaw at Lynden Christian, Lummi Nation at Muckleshoot Tribal

NORTHWEST CONFERENCE


League Overall
W L W L
Burlington-Edison 2 0 3 2
Lakewood 2 0 3 0
Lynden Christian 2 0 4 0
Meridian 2 0 3 1
Sehome 2 0 4 0
Lynden 1 0 1 0
Mount Vernon 1 0 1 1
Anacortes 2 1 3 1
Ferndale 1 1 1 3
Oak Harbor 1 1 3 2
Blaine 1 2 1 3
Bellingham 0 2 2 2
Mount Baker 0 2 0 4
Nooksack Valley 0 2 1 3
Sedro-Woolley 0 2 2 3
Squalicum 0 2 0 2
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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