Ferndale, Lynden and Sehome go 2-0 as Northwest Conference play opens.
GAMES OF THE WEEK: Playing its first game of the season against the No.2-ranked 2A team in the state, Lynden Christian came from 16 points down to force overtime before falling, 83-74, to Burlington-Edison on Monday. Andrew DeVries and Jaden DeBoer led the Lyncs with 32 and 22 points, respectively. … Ferndale came back from an 18-point halftime deficit to shock Squalicum, 69-67, on the road on Thursday. Jazen Guillory led Golden Eagles with 19 points.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Mark Schlichting had 32 points, 20 of them in the third quarter, as Ferndale bombed Tamanawis (B.C). In the Golden Eagles’ three victories this week, Schlicting averaged 23 points and made 13 3-pointers. … What a start for Andrew DeVries, who broke his own school record with nine 3-pointers in Lynden Christian’s opener against Burlington-Edison. … Liam Hanenburg had 29 points and 6 rebounds to lead Lynden over Mount Baker on Tuesday, and added 17 points and 9 rebounds against Sedro-Woolley on Thursday. … Caleb Revey became only the third player in Lummi Nation history to score 1,000 points in a career, reaching the milestone with 14 points against Orcas Christian on Tuesday. … Ryan Johnson had two double-doubles for Meridian collecting 12 points and 10 rebounds against Lakewood and adding 10 points and 10 rebounds against Anacortes. … Zane Rector had 30 points in Blaine’s victory over Squalicum. … Cody Coppinger averaged 21.3 points and Cole Eldridge averaged 18.3 in Nooksack Valley’s three games this week. … Colm Schaefer had seven 3-pointers and 26 points in Bellingham’s victory over Oak Harbor.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: Ferndale ran its win streak to five games with three victories in four days. The Golden Eagles swamped Tamanawis (B.C.) on Monday, 82-68. Everybody scored with Guillory tossing in 12 and Isaiah Carlson 11. Ferndale then handed Nooksack Valley its first loss on Tuesday, 76-61, with Schlichting getting 26 points, Guillery 15 and Carson Peters 11. The Golden Eagles finished the week with their 69-67 overtime victory at Squalicum on Thursday. Guillory had 19 points, Carlson 16, Andrew Monks 13, and Jesse Sapp and Schlichting 11 each.
Lynden continued its winning ways Tuesday with a 71-53 victory over Mount Baker as Jordan Medcalf had 20 points, Brock Heppner added 16, and Kaleo Jandoc had 7 assists. In Lynden’s 80-55 thumping of Sedro-Woolley on Thursday, Clay Kochuten had a game-high 22 points on 6-of-8 shooting from 3-point range and Medcalf added 16 points.
Sehome won its first two NWC games, edging Sedro-Woolley, 58-54, and then beating city rival Bellingham, 51-30, on Friday. Micah Daheim led the Mariners with 14 points and Jake Ortega had 13 against the Red Raiders.
Blaine split its two games, topping Squalicum, 76-70, on Monday for the Borderites’ fifth straight win to open the season, and then losing for the first time in a 80-55 shoot-out with Lynden Christian on Friday. Josh Russ had 28 points in the two games, Kyle Turnberg had 16 points against the Storm, and against the Lyncs, Rector had 16 and Cole Thomas had 13.
With several players ill, Nooksack Valley suffered its first loss of the season on Tuesday, 76-61, to Ferndale despite 22 points from Cody Coppinger and 21 from Cole Eldridge. The Pioneers rebounded with a 77-64 victory over Mount Baker on Friday and a 71-48 non-league win over Coupeville on Saturday. Coppinger had 23 points, Eldridge 16 and Zach Johnson and Clancy Coppinger 13 each against the Mounties. Cody Coppinger added 20 more against Coupeville, while Eldridge had 18 and Colby Wichers 12.
Meridian couldn’t hang on to a nine-point fourth-quarter lead and suffered its first loss of the season, 52-51, to Lakewood on Tuesday despite Jackson Short’s 13 points. The Trojans bounced back with a 53-45 victory over Anacortes on Thursday as Short had 15 points. The Trojans then nearly doubled Granite Falls, 71-36, on Saturday.
Lynden Christian came back from its season-opening loss to Burlington by beating coach Roger DeBoer’s former team, Seattle Christian, in a non-league game on Wednesday, 69-61, with DeBoer’s son Jaden notching 23 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds. Bryce Bouwman scored 20 points to lead the Lyncs over previously unbeaten Blaine on Friday, 80-55. Zach Sipma (16), DeVries (16) and DeBoer (10) were also in double figures.
Bellingham lost its first two league games, falling to Anacortes on Monday, 65-49, and then having its worst shooting night of the season in losing to city rival Sehome on Friday, 51-30, despite Schaefer’s 17 points. The Red Raiders bounced back with their best offensive night of the season on Saturday, sinking Oak Harbor in a non-league game, 79-44, as Chris Oesterling had 16 points and Aiden Bartlett 14.
Mount Baker dropped its league opener to Lynden, 71-53, on Tuesday despite 12 points each from Mason Jacoby and Braedan Hart. On Friday, Hart had 17 points, Jason Lee 16 and Jacoby 10 but it wasn’t enough as the Mounties lost to Nooksack Valley, 77-64.
Squalicum dropped both league contests this week. The Storm lost to Blaine on Monday, 76-70, and then fell to 3A rival Ferndale in overtime on Thursday, 69-67, despite 21 points from Devante Powell, 17 from Dedrick Mitchell and 12 from Leland Zender.
Lummi Nation jumped to the top of the Northwest 1B League standings with three more league victories this week. The Blackhawks pounded Orcas Christian on Tuesday, 79-31, and then ran away from Cedar Park Christian (Mountlake Terrace) in an early-season showdown, 62-33, on Saturday. In between, Lummi Nation was awarded a forfeit victory over Providence Christian on Thursday.
Week 3 Standings
NORTHWEST CONFERENCE
| League | Overall | |||
| W | L | W | L | |
| Burlington-Edison | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Ferndale | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| Lynden | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| Sehome | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| Anacortes | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Blaine | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| Lakewood | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Lynden Christian | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| Meridian | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| Nooksack Valley | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| Bellingham | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| Mount Baker | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Sedro-Woolley | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Squalicum | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
NORTHWEST 1B LEAGUE
| League | Overall | |||
| W | L | W | L | |
| Lummi Nation | 4 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| Tulip Heritage | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
| Cedar Park Christian (MLT) | 3 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
| Grace Academy | 3 | 1 | 4 | 3 |
| Lopez | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Orcas Christian | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Providence Christian | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4 |
| Arlington Christian | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fellowship Christian | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Skykomish | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Shoreline Christian | 0 | 6 | 1 | 7 |
WEEK 4
TOP GAMES: If you want to stay in Whatcom County this weekend, check out either the Blaine Holiday Tournament at Blaine High School or the Cloud 9 Christmas Classic at both Lynden Christian and Lynden high schools. Action for both boys and girls is on Friday and Saturday.
SCHEDULE
Thursday, Dec. 26: Squalicum at Tustin Holiday Tournament
Friday, Dec. 27: Squalicum at Tustin Holiday Tournament, Bellingham at Northwest School’s Holiday Challenge (Seattle), Nooksack Valley at Auburn Riverside Holiday Classic, Cloud 9 Christmas Classic (Bear Creek vs. Ferndale, Sehome vs. Montesano, Monroe vs. Lynden Christian), SunDome Shootout (Bellevue Christian vs. Meridian, Prairie vs. Lynden), Blaine Holiday Tournament (Mount Baker vs. University Prep, Lynnwood vs. Blaine, Lummi Nation vs. Stanwood)
Saturday, Dec. 28: Squalicum at Tustin Holiday Tournament, Bellingham at Northwest School’s Holiday Challenge, Nooksack Valley at Auburn Riverside Holiday Classic, Cloud 9 Christmas Classic (Sehome vs. Sequim, Ferndale vs. Washougal, Glacier Peak vs. Lynden Christian), SunDome Shootout (Meridian vs. Royal, Davis vs. Lynden), Blaine Holiday Tournament (Mount Baker vs. Lynnwood, Stanwood vs. Blaine, University Prep vs. Lummi Nation)
