Heading into winter break, most of the Northwest Conference leaders remain on collision courses that will have to wait until January to happen.
Lynden and Lynden Christian are still unbeaten in league play but Anacortes, Bellingham, and Mount Vernon are stalking the two defending state champions and have only one league loss each.
The Northwest 1B League race is turning out to be a runaway as Lummi Nation remained undefeated in league by crushing previously unbeaten Grace Academy on Thursday.
For a look back at Week 4 for our Whatcom girls teams, check out Whatcom Hoops girls recap.
Here are the boys highlights from Week 4.
GAME OF THE WEEK
Nooksack Valley and Blaine bounced back after tough losses earlier in the week to have an exciting back-and-forth battle on Friday that the visiting Pioneers finally won, 60-59. Nooksack was down by double-digits early in the third quarter but rallied behind sophomore Cole Coppinger and used a 24-point third period to take a five-point lead. But the Borderites fought back only to fall a point short as the Pioneers hit 3 of 4 free throws down the stretch.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Jaeger Fyfe had 35 points and fellow junior Talon Jenkins had 19 points in Meridian’s big win on Wednesday. … Senior Wyatt Stephan had 19 points for Bellingham on Monday and followed that up with 27 on Friday, while junior Kincade VanHouten had 19 for the Bayhawks on Wednesday. … Lynden junior Brant Heppner had 26 points on Tuesday and senior Anthony Canales had 18 on Friday. … Senior Justin Minjarez had 24 points for Blaine on Friday. … Sophomore Mantaj Singh had 23 points for Ferndale on Tuesday and 16 points on Friday, and senior Bishop Ootsey had 19 points for the Golden Eagles on Wednesday. … Sophomore Cole Coppinger had 22 points for Nooksack Valley on Friday. … Junior Gannon Dykstra had 20 points and senior Dawson Bouma had 19 for Lynden Christian on Wednesday. … Sophomore Jerome Toby had 15 points on Tuesday for Lummi Nation and followed that up with 19 on Thursday. … Senior Braddock Duckworth had 19 points for Sehome on Monday. … Squalicum junior Marcus Nixon had 17 points on Friday and he and freshman Hunter Calloway had 15 points each for the Storm on Monday.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
LUMMI NATION blasted Shoreline Christian on Tuesday, 75-24, and then won its Northwest 1B showdown with Grace Academy on Thursday, 69-19. On Tuesday, the Blackhawks were up by 12 after one quarter and only allowed the Chargers 16 points after that to coast to the win. Toby led a balanced attack with 15 points, freshman Dyson Edwards had 14 points, seniors Desmond Bailey and Landon Day had 12 each, and senior Mathias Johnson had 11. On Thursday against the undefeated Eagles, the Blackhawks avenged last year’s loss by holding Grace Academy to 30 points under its average. Ten different Blackhawks scored with Toby again leading the way with 19 points. Junior Tony Abrams had 10 points, Edwards had 9 points, Bailey had 8 points, and senior Raymond Perkins had 7. Check out the story on Thursday’s game at Lummi Nation boys.
LYNDEN knocked off Nooksack Valley on Tuesday, 67-28, and stopped Sedro-Woolley on Friday, 58-32. On Tuesday, the Lions took care of business early with a 15-4 first quarter and never let up in the NWC showdown. Heppner had a big night with 26 points, three 3s, and 14 rebounds. Canales added 13 points, senior Ty Holleman had 9 points, junior Jack Stapleton had 8 points and 7 rebounds, and senior Brady Elsner had 13 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks. On Friday, the Lions’ defense shut out the Cubs in the first quarter and after leading by 20 at halftime coasted to the victory. Canales had 18 points, 7 rebounds, and was one of four Lions with 3 assists. Senior Weston VanDalen had 13 points including three 3-pointers and 3 assists, Heppner and sophomore Dani Bowler had 8 points each, and Stapleton added a game-high 9 rebounds and 3 assists. Check out the story on Tuesday’s game at Lynden-Nooksack Valley boys.
LYNDEN CHRISTIAN overpowered Blaine on Wednesday, 97-27, in the Lyncs’ lone game of the week. The Lyncs’ offense was hitting on all cylinders from start to finish against the visiting Borderites. Ten Lyncs got in the scoring column with Dykstra’s 20 and Bouma’s 19 leading the way. The two guards also had four and three of LC’s 11 3-pointers, respectively. Senior Kayden Stuit added 14 points, senior Jeremiah Wright and sophomore Boyce Robertson had 10 points each, and freshman Dawson Hintz and junior Oak Howell had 7 points each as the Lyncs remained unbeaten.
MERIDIAN defeated Mount Baker on Friday, 88-64, in the Trojans’ only game this week. Meridian set a season-high in points with Fyfe accounting for 35 of them. Jenkins finished with 19, and freshman Nate Payne contributed 14. Fyfe and Jenkins also had two 3-pointers each.
BELLINGHAM beat Sehome on Monday, 57-52; lost to Meadowdale on Wednesday, 71-48; but came back to stop Ferndale on Friday, 50-45. In the big intracity rivalry game on Monday, the Bayhawks built a 15-point lead after three quarters but then had to hold off a Sehome rally that cut it to two before Bellingham put the game away. Stephan led a balanced Bayhawks attack with 19 points, including two free throws with 6.2 seconds left to ice the game; senior Elias Togagae had 13 points, and juniors Gabe Van Hofwegen and VanHouten had 10 and 9 points, respectively. On Wednesday, the Bayhawks came out flat and never recovered in the non-league loss to the Mavericks. VanHouten had 19 points and 5 rebounds; Stephan added 10 points, 4 assists, and 4 steals; and Togagae grabbed 10 rebounds but no other Bayhawks managed more than five points. On Friday, the Bayhawks rallied from a first-half deficit to take a four-point lead heading into the fourth quarter and then held off the Golden Eagles for a big NWC win. Stephan had 18 of his game-high 27 in the second half, VanHouten had 9 points, and sophomore Harmon Wienkers added 7 points. Check out the story on Monday’s game at Bellingham-Sehome boys.
NOOKSACK VALLEY lost to Lynden on Tuesday, 67-28, but pulled out the victory at Blaine on Friday, 60-59. On Tuesday, the Pioneers had a tough time getting their offense going against the Lions. Junior Caden Heutink had 10 points for Nooksack Valley and junior Tristan Kamphouse added 8 points and a pair of 3-pointers. On Friday, Coppinger had 15 of his 22 points and two of his three 3-pointers in the crucial third period as the Pioneers rallied to take the lead and then held off the Borderites for the win. Junior Brady Ackerman had 13 points, Heutink had 10 points, and Kamphouse had 7 points and two big 3s. Check out the story on Tuesday’s game at Nooksack Valley-Lynden boys.
SEHOME lost to Bellingham on Monday, 57-52, but bounced back to beat Sedro-Woolley in overtime on Thursday, 52-47. On Monday in the city rivalry game, the Mariners found themselves down by 15 going into the final quarter but a great comeback cut it to two before the Bayhawks pulled it out. Duckworth led the rally with eight of 18 points in the fourth quarter, sophomore Nolan Wright and freshman Quincy Tanovan had 11 points each, and senior Austin McKay added 8 points. On Thursday, Sehome was without the Duckworth brothers, but outscored the Cubs in overtime, 9-4, to pull out the victory. Tanovan had 14 points as four Mariners were in double figures. McKay and sophomore Cole Turrell had 11 points each, and Wright added 10 points. Check out the story on Monday’s game at Sehome-Bellingham boys.
MOUNT BAKER lost to Oak Harbor on Monday, 69-43; beat Granite Falls on Wednesday, 55-50; and lost to Meridian on Friday, 88-64. On Monday, the Mounties were dealing with sickness and struggled to deal with the Wildcats in the second half. Junior Cole Lukes with 11 points and junior Darius Gilstrap with 8 were the only Mounties with more than six points. On Wednesday, the Mounties rallied from an eight-point halftime deficit to beat the Tigers in the non-league contest. Freshman Kell Reardon had eight of his team-high 13 points in the second half and pulled down 9 rebounds, Gilstrap had 12 points, and sophomores Carter Hill and Peyton Abitia added 9 and 8 points, respectively. On Friday, the Mounties had their most productive offensive game of the season but couldn’t keep up with the Trojans. Nine Mounties scored and four were in double figures — Reardon with 14, junior Luke Smith with 13, Hill with 11, and sophomore Jordan Bailey with 10.
BLAINE fell to Lynden Christian on Wednesday, 97-27, and lost to Nooksack Valley on Friday, 60-59. On Wednesday, little went right for the Borderites who only managed 16 points in the final three quarters. Weeda had 16 points in a game Blaine would quickly put behind them. On Friday, the Borderites showed their heart by rallying in the fourth period but their 18 points came up just short. Minjarez led the comeback by hitting 14 of his game-high 24 points and half of his six 3-pointers in the critical fourth quarter. Weeda had 12 points, senior Noah Tavis had 11 points, and each had a pair of 3s.
SQUALICUM lost to Burlington-Edison on Monday, 53-39, and to Archbishop Murphy on Friday, 57-55. On Monday, the Storm played the Tigers even through three quarters but then went cold in the fourth quarter, only managing five points. Nixon and Calloway had 15 points each and Squalicum’s only points in the final period, but no other Storm player had more than three points in the game. Calloway also had three 3-pointers. On Friday, the Storm were down four going into the final period but their late comeback came up short in the non-league game. Nixon sparked the rally with eight of his 18 points in the fourth quarter and he finished the game with a pair of 3s and was a perfect 5 for 5 from the line. Sophomore Zachary Watt added 9 points and and junior Ezra Nichols had 7 points.
FERNDALE fell to Sedro-Woolley on Tuesday, 69-65; to North Creek on Wednesday, 74-48; and to Bellingham on Friday, 50-45. On Tuesday, the Golden Eagles were only down by one going into the fourth period but gave up 23 points in the final quarter. Singh had 23 points to lead Ferndale. Junior Jonah Brillowsky added 16 points and 8 rebounds, senior Bhavnoor Grewal had 11 points and 5 rebounds, junior Lincoln Thomas had 8 points, and Ootsey dished out 9 assists. On Wednesday, Ferndale led going into the second period but the Class 4A Jaguars’ scored 52 points in the second and third quarters to take the non-league win. Ootsey had 19 points, Brillowsky had 9 points, and Grewal had 6 but no other Golden Eagle managed more than two. On Friday, Ferndale played Bellingham even most of the game but couldn’t make up for a seven-point third quarter. Singh again led the offense with 16 points, Grewal had 9 points, Brillowsky had 8 points, and Thomas added 7 points.
NOTE: A big thank you to the coaches and Tyler Anderson of WhatcomPreps.com for providing statistics. For a look at NWC boys highlights, check out Ted House’s Northwest Conference Basketball Report.
WEEK 5
TOP GAMES
Nine of our 11 teams are in holiday tournaments with Meridian and Squalicum at the Trojan Storm Winter Classic at Meridian, Blaine and Lummi Nation at the Mount Vernon Christian Holiday Tournament, Lynden and Nooksack Valley at the Wilbur-Ellis Sundome Shootout in Yakima, and Sehome and Lynden Christian at the Mountlake Terrace Holiday Tournament with the Lyncs also making a guest appearance on the last day of the Trojan Storm Winter Classic.
SCHEDULE
For a complete list of next week’s games, see the Holiday Tournament Preview on Christmas Day.
NORTHWEST CONFERENCE
| League | Overall | |||
| W | L | W | L | |
| Lynden | 6 | 0 | 7 | 2 |
| Lynden Christian | 5 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| Bellingham | 5 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| Mount Vernon | 4 | 1 | 7 | 2 |
| Anacortes | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| Nooksack Valley | 4 | 2 | 6 | 2 |
| Sehome | 3 | 2 | 5 | 3 |
| Lakewood | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Squalicum | 2 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| Ferndale | 2 | 4 | 2 | 7 |
| Sedro-Woolley | 2 | 4 | 3 | 6 |
| Meridian | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Burlington-Edison | 1 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| Mount Baker | 1 | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| Blaine | 1 | 5 | 2 | 6 |
| Oak Harbor | 0 | 5 | 2 | 6 |
NORTHWEST 1B LEAGUE
| League | Overall | |||
| W | L | W | L | |
| Lummi Nation | 5 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| Grace Academy | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| Tulalip Heritage | 3 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| Fellowship Christian | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Shoreline Christian | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Providence Classical Christian | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Cedar Park Christian (Lynnwood) | 1 | 4 | 2 | 5 |
| Lopez Island | 0 | 5 | 0 | 6 |
