It was a busy week for most of our Whatcom boys teams as six participated in two-day and three-day holiday tournaments around the state.
The Lynden, Lynden Christian, and Squalicum boys were victorious in their games Friday and Saturday, and the Meridian boys won the first two games in their Trojan Storm Classic before losing in the championship game. Bellingham and Sehome, meanwhile, won one game each in their tournaments.
Mount Baker managed to sneak in a non-league victory on Monday while Blaine, Ferndale, Lummi Nation, and Nooksack Valley took the Christmas week off.
For a recap of all the tournament games involving our teams, be sure to check out the Thursday roundup, Friday roundup, and Saturday roundup.
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
The most anticipated game of the week and one of the closest was the rematch between Lynden and Grandview in the Wilbur-Ellis SunDome Shootout in Yakima on Friday. While the game was nothing like the Lions’ 31-point rout in the Class 2A state championship game last March, the result was the same with Lynden winning, 46-41. In a surprising defensive struggle that was close throughout, Heppner led the Lions with 18 points and 10 rebounds as they held on for the victory.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Senior Gannon Dykstra had 36 points and sophomore Dawson Hintz had 19 points for Lynden Christian on Monday with Dykstra adding 24 points on Friday, and 25 more on Saturday. Sophomore Gunnar Dykstra had 19 points on Saturday. … Junior Joe Harward had 33 points for Bellingham on Friday. … Sophomore Hunter Calloway had 25 points and senior Marcus Nixon had 17 points for Squalicum on Friday, and Calloway added 17 points on Saturday. … Seniors Jaeger Fyfe and Talon Jenkins had 23 points each for Meridian on Friday, Jenkins had 19 points on Thursday, and Jenkins and senior James Hedahl had 17 points each on Saturday. … Senior Brant Heppner led Lynden with 18 points on Friday and followed that up with 22 points on Saturday. … Senior Darius Gilstrap had 19 points and junior Payten Abitia added 18 for Mount Baker on Monday. … Junior Xavier Kelley led Sehome with 16 points on Saturday.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
LYNDEN stayed unbeaten with two impressive victories at the Wilbur-Ellis SunDome Shootout in Yakima. The Lions staved off Grandview in a rematch of their Class 2A state championship game in March, 46-41, and knocked off Bonney Lake on Saturday, 46-31.
SQUALICUM had a great weekend with victories in both its games in the Mountlake Terrace Holiday Tournament. The Storm clobbered Class 4A Jackson on Friday, 63-46, and Inglewood on Saturday, 48-44.
MOUNT BAKER only had one game and took care of business with a 67-48 non-league victory over Granite Falls on Monday. The Mounties used balanced scoring to tame the Tigers with Gilstrap and Abitia combining for 37 points and each having two 3-pointers, senior Chris Armbright and sophomore Kell Reardon having 9 points each with Armbright’s coming on a trio of 3-pointers, and senior Luke Smith adding 6 points. Gilstrap also had 15 rebounds, 12 on the offensive ends, and 6 assist; Abitia had 10 rebounds; Reardon had 8 rebounds; and Armbright had 8 assists.
LYNDEN CHRISTIAN suffered its first loss of the season, falling to Arlington in a non-league shootout on Monday, 92-90. The Lyncs then traveled south for the Mountlake Terrace Holiday Tournament and defeated the host Hawks, 59-39, and Woodinville, 76-53. On Monday, the Lyncs couldn’t hold a double-digit lead and gave up 28 points in the fourth period to fall to the Class 4A Eagles. Dykstra had 36 points, 10 assists, and 6 rebounds, but the big story was the return of Hintz from a a football injury. In addition to his 19 points, he had 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, and five 3-pointers. Sophomore Kaden Veldman had 13 points and 10 rebounds to go along with 4 assists and 3 blocks, sophomore Gunnar Dykstra had 9 points, and senior Luke Van Kooten added 8 points.
MERIDIAN had a good week, winning two of three in its own Trojan Storm Classic. The Trojans rolled past Seattle Christian, 67-44, in Thursday’s opener, and then withstood a big Tonasket comeback to beat the Tigers, 70-60, before losing to Kamiak in the championship game, 66-54.
SEHOME played short-handed all weekend because of injuries and split its two games at the CWU tournament. The Mariners lost to host Ellensburg on Friday, 56-39, but bounced back to defeat Eastmont on Saturday, 51-36.
BELLINGHAM lost its opener in the Trojan Storm Classic to Overlake on Thursday, 57-53; beat Seattle Christian on Friday, 87-80; and lost to Bellevue Christian on Saturday, 63-60.
BLAINE had the week off.
FERNDALE had the week off.
LUMMI NATION had the week off.
NOOKSACK VALLEY had the week off.
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 GAME
In another short week because of the New Year’s holiday, the most entertaining games might be at the Mount Vernon Christian Holiday Tournament, which will feature some of the top Class 1B and 2B girls and boys teams in our region, including the Lummi Nation Blackhawks, Thursday through Saturday. The big game in the Northwest Conference will be Burlington-Edison at Lynden Christian on Friday.
SCHEDULE
Monday, Dec. 30: Archbishop Murphy at Lynden
Thursday, Jan. 2: Lummi Nation vs. Mount Vernon Christian at MVC Tournament
Friday, Jan. 3: Anacortes at Sehome, Squalicum at Blaine, Burlington-Edison at Lynden Christian, Ferndale at Lakewood, Lummi Nation at MVC Tournament
Saturday, Jan. 4: Meridian at Mount Baker, Mount Vernon at Lynden, Bellingham at Nooksack, Lummi Nation at MVC Tournament
NORTHWEST CONFERENCE
| League | Overall | |||
| W | L | W | L | |
| Lynden | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| Lynden Christian | 4 | 0 | 9 | 1 |
| Belllingham | 3 | 1 | 5 | 4 |
| Burlington-Edison | 3 | 1 | 8 | 1 |
| Lakewood | 3 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| Meridian | 3 | 1 | 7 | 2 |
| Anacortes | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| Ferndale | 2 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| Mount Vernon | 2 | 2 | 5 | 4 |
| Sedro-Woolley | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Sehome | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 |
| Mount Baker | 1 | 3 | 5 | 3 |
| Blaine | 0 | 4 | 2 | 5 |
| Nooksack Valley | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Oak Harbor | 0 | 4 | 1 | 6 |
| Squalicum | 0 | 4 | 3 | 5 |
NORTHWEST 1B LEAGUE
| League | Overall | |||
| W | L | W | L | |
| Lummi Nation | 4 | 0 | 9 | 1 |
| Tulalip Heritage | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Lopez Island | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Cedar Park Christian (Lynnwood) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Grace Academy | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Providence Classical Christian | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Shoreline Christian | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
