It was a great week for the Lummi Nation and Lynden Christian boys teams, both of whom captured holiday tournament titles and finished the week with big victories.
The Blackhawks claimed the only local boys tournament — the three-day Trojan Storm Winter Classic — by beating host Meridian in the final, and the Lyncs went down south to win both their games at the Mountlake Terrace Holiday Tournament. Sehome also won the Burlington-Edison Holiday Tournament.
For a look back at Week 5 for our Whatcom girls teams, check out Whatcom Hoops Girls Recap.
Meanwhile, Bellingham and Meridian each won a pair of non-league holiday tournament games and a Northwest Conference contest.
For stories and photos from all the holiday tournaments, click on Monday’s Roundup, Tuesday’s Roundup, and Wednesday’s Wrapup.
Here are the boys highlights from Week 5.
GAMES OF THE WEEK
There were two last-second thrillers last weekend as Lummi Nation and Bellingham came from behind to win exciting games. The Blackhawks trailed Mount Vernon almost the whole game Friday but with the teams tied and time running out, junior Landon LaFontaine sank a 3-pointer just before the final buzzer to give Lummi an exciting 51-48 victory. Then on Saturday, the Bayhawks rallied from a double-digit hole to beat Nooksack Valley when senior Joe Harward grabbed a missed free throw and put it in with 1.2 seconds left for a 59-58 win.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Bellingham senior Joe Harward had a great week when in addition to hitting his game-winning shot on Saturday, he had 41 points on Wednesday to break the school record. … Lynden Christian junior Dawson Hintz had 23 points on Monday and 30 on Tuesday, and junior Kaden Veldman had 19 on Monday. … Junior Quincy Tanovan had 25 points on Tuesday for Sehome, and senior Xavier Kelley had 22 points on Monday. … Junior Gage Smith had 24 points for Mount Baker on Tuesday, and Kell Reardon had 15 points on Tuesday and on Saturday. … Lummi Nation senior Jerome Toby Jr. had 23 points on Monday and 16 on Friday, senior Chayce Waite-Kellar had 18 points on Monday and 23 on Wednesday, and junior Dyson Edwards had 23 points on Tuesday and 15 on Wednesday. … Senior Jayden Anderson had 20 points for Nooksack Valley on Tuesday and senior Owen Wichers had 23 points on Saturday. … Squalicum junior Blake Elston had 21 points on Tuesday and 23 on Friday. … Juniors Trey Alexander and Gabe Galbraith had 19 and 15 points, respectively, for Meridian on Monday, both had 21 points on Wednesday, and junior L.D. Webster had 16 points on Saturday.. … Sophomore Houston Wills had 20 points on Tuesday for Ferndale, and senior Mantaj Singh had 16 points on Tuesday and 18 on Friday for the Golden Eagles. … Blaine junior Gus Dickson had 17 points and senior Landon Melton added 15 on Saturday.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
LUMMI NATION won all three of its games at the Trojan Storm Winter Classic to claim the tournament title, and then knocked off another big school, 3A Mount Vernon, in a non-league game on Friday, 51-48. On Monday, the Blackhawks held off 4A Eastlake, 71-62. Toby scored on two fastbreak layups in the final two minutes and sank all four of his free throws in the final 30 seconds to ice the game. He would finish with a team-high 23 points and three 3-pointers, Waite-Kellar had 18 points and a couple of big dunks, juniors Landon LaFontaine and Dyson Edwards had 11 points each, and senior Deandre James chipped in with 8 points. On Tuesday, Lummi Nation exploded for 26 points in the first quarter and then upped that to 28 points in the second period, all while holding Bellingham to 21 points in the first half on the way to an 85-42 victory. Edwards led the Blackhawks’ attack with eight points in the first period and 15 in the second to finish with a game-high 23. Toby and Waite-Kellar had 11 points each, LaFontaine had 10 points and a pair of 3-pointers, James had 8 points, junior Tre James had 7 points, and freshman Mason Revey had 6 points. On Wednesday, the Blackhawks used a 20-point third quarter to break away from a halftime tie and defeated host Meridian, 71-60, for the tournament championship. Waite-Kellar dominated inside with a game-high 23 points, Edwards had 15 points, Toby had 14 points, and LaFontaine had 9 points. On Friday, the Blackhawks found themselves in unfamiliar territory, behind by nine going into the final period, but put together a 20-point fourth quarter, the last three points on LaFontaine’s shot to beat the Bulldogs. Toby had 16 points, half of them coming in the fourth quarter, Waite-Kellar had 10 points and 18 rebounds, senior Isaiah Yrizarris had 7 points, and Edwards, James, and LaFontaine had 6 points, with LaFontaine’s coming on two 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.
LYNDEN CHRISTIAN won both its games at the Mountlake Terrace Holiday Tournament and then shocked Burlington-Edison on Friday, 79-52. On Monday, the Lyncs only scored nine first-quarter points but took the lead by halftime and then had enough fire power to knock off 3A Seattle Academy, 64-54. Hintz led LC with 23 points, 14 coming in the second half, and a pair of 3-pointers; Veldman had 19 points; senior Hayden Herwerden had 8 points; and junior Gunnar Dykstra had 7 points. On Tuesday, the Lyncs trailing by one at the half but used an 18-point fourth quarter to pull away from 4A Sumner, 59-53. Hintz who had a game-high 30 points, three of the Lyncs’ four 3-pointers, and in the critical final period had nine points and made five of his six free throws. Dykstra and junior Harvest Howell added 10 and 8 points, respectively. On Friday, in what was expected to be a close game between two of the NWC’s top teams, the Lyncs came out hot and blazed to a 51-19 halftime lead before coasting to victory. Hintz was the hottest of the Lyncs with 26 points including six of LC’s 11 3-pointers before sitting out the fourth quarter. Dykstra and Veldman had 12 points each with the latter tossing in two 3s, Howell and senior Eli Maberry had 9 points each, and junior James Vos had 6 points.
BELLINGHAM won two of three at the Trojan Storm Winter Classic and then came back to win a thriller over Nooksack Valley on Saturday, 59-58. On Monday, the Bayhawks built a double-digit lead but then had to hold off Bellevue Christian, 62-56. Junior Calvin Van Hofwegen led Bellingham with 14 points, senior Barrett Johnson had 13 points and made all four of his free throws in the crucial final period, Harward had 12 points and made five of his six free throws in the fourth quarter, sophomore Emmett Vanhouten added 10 points, and senior Cyrus Campos had 9 points for the Bayhawks. On Tuesday, the Bayhawks couldn’t stop Lummi Nation’s high-powered offense and lost, 85-42. The Bayhawks were led by Harward’s 12 points. Sophomores Emmett Vanhouten and Reid Hals added 6 points each. On Wednesday, Harward had 41 points to not only lead Bellingham to a 78-63 win over Bush but break the school record of 40 points in a game set by Eric Jorissen in 1996. Harward had 12 of his points in the fourth quarter, when Bellingham put up 27 points to break open a close game. Joining Harward in double figures were Van Hofwegen with 14 points and a pair of 3-pointers, and Johnson with 12 points. Vanhouten added 7 points for the Bayhawks. On Saturday, the Bayhawks rallied from a 14-point deficit in the third period to pull off the comeback win when Harward put back an offensive rebound on a missed free throw with 1.2 seconds left. He would finish with 20 points, 18 of them in the second half, and 18 rebounds. Van Hofwegen had 14 points thanks to four 3-pointers and 4 assists, Vanhouten had 10 points and a pair of 3s, and Johnson had 9 points.
MERIDIAN won two games at its own Trojan Storm Winter Classic to play for the championship before losing, and then bounced back to outlast Mount Baker on Saturday, 68-54. On Monday, the Trojans used a 25-4 third quarter to break open the game and down Sultan, 70-37. Alexander led Meridian with 19 points, Galbraith had 15 points and a trio of 3-pointers as 12 different Trojans got in the scoring column. On Tuesday, the Trojans defeated Bush, 62-52. In Wednesday’s title game, the Trojans closed a 10-point gap to three in the fourth period but couldn’t catch Lummi Nation and lost, 71-60. Galbraith and Alexander had 21 points each, senior Daniel Larsen had 7 points, and Webster had 6 points. On Saturday, the Trojans outscored the Mounties, 18-5, during a four-minute stretch to end the second quarter to turn a six-point deficit into a seven-point halftime lead that would hold up the rest of the game. Webster came off the bench to spark Meridian with his hustle on defense and add 16 points. Larsen and Galbraith had 14 points each, and junior Pierce Brzozowski and Alexander contributed 8 and 7 points, respectively to the Meridian attack. For the story and photos from Saturday’s game, click on Meridian Boys.
SEHOME took the Burlington-Edison Holiday Tournament championship by winning both its games but had a letdown on Friday, losing to Anacortes, 48-33. On Monday, the Mariners only put up 10 first-quarter points but then dominated 3A Thomas Jefferson the rest of the way for a 60-47 victory. Kelley led the Mariners with 22 points, including a pair of 3-pointers; senior Klay Jackson had 11 points and a trio of 3s; junior Quincy Tanovan had 10 points and two more 3s; and senior Nolan Wright added 7 points. In Tuesday’s tournament championship game (and non-conference game), the Mariners handed host Burlington-Edison its first loss of the season, 73-57, by holding the Tigers to 20 points below their season average. Tanovan led the Mariners’ attack with 25 points, including four of their eight 3-pointers, on 10 of 14 shooting. He also had 3 steals and 3 assists. Kelley had 16 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals, and 3 assists; Jackson had 15 points, three 3s, and 4 steals; seniors Cole Turrell and Carter Duckworth had 6 points each and combined for 8 rebounds; and Wright had 11 assists, 5 rebounds, and 5 steals. On Friday, the Mariners picked a bad time to go cold, having their lowest scoring output of the season, and despite closing with four with five minutes left couldn’t upset the undefeated Seahawks. Kelley had 11 points, Turrell had 8 points, and Tanovan had 7 points.
SQUALICUM split its two games at the Mountlake Terrace Holiday Tournament and returned to NWC action by beating Blaine on Friday, 55-45 On Monday, the Storm couldn’t get anything going against 4A Sumner, falling behind by 32 by halftime and losing, 71-28. Senior Rhys Knowlton led Squalicum with 11 points but was the only Storm player to score more than five points. On Tuesday, the Storm broke away from a one-point halftime lead to outscore the 4A Juanita by 15 after intermission and claim a 61-45 victory. Elston led the second-half charge, scoring all 21 of his points and both 3-pointers in the final two quarters. Junior Hunter Calloway, who saw his first action of the season Monday after returning from an injury, had 11 points. Knowlton had 9 points, junior Orion Granberg-Kiddle had 8 points, and sophomore Lincoln Shimkus added 6 points for the Storm. On Friday, the Storm held Blaine to five first-period points and then held the Borderites at bay the rest of the way. Elston finished with 23 points, including a pair of 3-pointers in the fourth quarter; Calloway had 12 points; and Granberg-Kiddle and junior Jacob Truemper had 6 points each.
NOOKSACK VALLEY won two of three games at the T-Town Throwdown tournament in Tacoma and fell in a wild one at Bellingham on Saturday, 59-58. On Monday, the Pioneers managed only five points in the opening quarter to fall behind by 16 and were shut out in the fourth period in losing to undefeated Class 4A Bonney Lake, 75-30. Seniors Cole Coppinger and Wichers had 10 and 9 points, respectively, to lead Nooksack. On Tuesday, the Pioneers jumped on 4A Newport of Bellevue for 25 points in the first quarter and another 23 points in the second quarter to take a 25-point halftime lead and then held the Knights to 14 second-half points in the 81-37 rout. Anderson led the balanced Nooksack attack with 20 points and four 3-pointers, Wichers had 14 points and two more 3s, Coppinger and senior Crew Bauman had 12 points each, and sophomore Treven Scheenstra had 6 points. On Wednesday, the Pioneers had one of the most impressive games of the season as they took the lead early in the second quarter and never relinquished it in a 57-53 victory over 2A Franklin Pierce, which came into the game with a 7-1 record. After leading by as much as seven, Nooksack still clung to a two-point lead with two minutes to go when Coppinger hit a 3-pointer and a putback, and junior Dane Ackerman sank a turnaround jumper at the shot clock buzzer with a minute to go, which proved just enough. Wichers capped an outstanding tournament with 19 points and a pair of 3-pointers, sBauman had 11 points and two more 3s, Coppinger had 10 points, including eight in the final period, and Anderson had 6 points. On Saturday, the Pioneers saw their 14-point third-quarter lead vanish in the final minute, reclaimed the lead on Coppinger’s three-point play with 25 seconds to go, only to lose on a last-second layup. Wichers had 23 points, Coppinger had 18 points, and Anderson and Bauman had 4 assists each.
LYNDEN split its two games at the Wilbur-Ellis SunDome Shootout in Yakima. On Monday, the Lions only allowed 4A Eisenhower 15 first-half points and stretched a 10-point margin in the fourth quarter to 18 in the 59-41 victory. Senior Brody Price and junior Gordy Bedlington led Lynden with 12 points and two 3-pointers each and the two combined for 7 assists. Junior Malachi Koenen had 10 points and two more 3s, senior James Ellis had 7 points, and junior Lewis Whitney had a team-high 9 rebounds. On Tuesday, the Lions played without their three tallest players most of the game and couldn’t quite upset undefeated Selah, 68-62. Ellis led the Lions with 14 points, hitting 6 of his 8 field goal attempts, sinking a pair of 3-pointers, and grabbing 4 rebounds. Sophomore Jayden Navarre had 13 points, three 3s, and 3 assists; junior Malachi Koenen had 12 points on four 3-pointers, and 3 assists; senior Charlie Broersma had a team-high 5 rebounds; and Bedlington had 5 assists.
MOUNT BAKER knocked off Granite Falls in a non-league game on Tuesday, 70-58, but then lost at Meridian on Saturday, 68-54. On Tuesday, the Mounties put together their best offensive game of the season with a season-high 70 points. Smith had 24 points, Reardon added 15 points, senior Payten Abitia had 9 points and a pair of 3s, and senior Jordan Bailey and sophomore Pepe McEvoy-Salgado added 6 each with McEvoy-Salgado’s coming on two 3-pointers. On Saturday, the Mounties came up cold at the end of the second quarter to fall behind by seven and never could catch the Trojans. Reardon was able to muscle inside for 15 points, Abitia battled for 12 points, and senior Jet Ross had 9 points. For the story and photos from Saturday’s game, click on Mount Baker Boys.
BLAINE lost a pair of home games to Squalicum on Friday, 55-45, and to Cedar Park Christian (Bothell) on Saturday, 56-54. On Friday, the Borderites only scored five points in the opening period and despite playing the Storm even the rest of the way never could recover. Senior Daniel Banks and Melton had 11 points each and Dickson had 10 points thanks to a pair of 3-pointers. On Saturday, the Borderites only managed 17 points in the second half and couldn’t stop the Eagles’ comeback in the non-league game. Dickson had 17 points and 10 rebounds, Melton had 15 points and 14 rebounds, and junior Peyton Bouma had 11 points and 7 rebounds.
FERNDALE lost to Edmonds-Woodway on Tuesday, 66-55, and to Lakewood on Friday, 67-51. On Tuesday, the Golden Eagles were down by nine after only managing 20 first-half points and despite warming up in the second half, couldn’t get much closer in the non-league loss. Wills hit six 3-pointers and had 20 points and was joined in double figures by Singh with 16 points, and sophomore Tracen Pazaski with 11 points. On Friday, the Golden Eagles couldn’t overcome 16 turnovers and fell to the league-leading Cougars. Singh had 18 points, Pazaski had 10 points and 10 rebounds, Wills contributed 6 points, and senior Cooper Vincent had 6 assists and 5 rebounds.
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 6
TOP GAMES
Lummi Nation starts off the week at rival Tulalip Heritage on Monday in the top Northwest 1B League game of the year so far but the toughest week belongs to Meridian and Lynden. The Trojans face NWC leaders Lynden Christian on Monday and Anacortes on Thursday, while the injury-plagued Lions are at Mount Vernon on Monday, host Sedro-Woolley on Wednesday, and at Bellingham on Saturday.
SCHEDULE
Monday, Jan. 5: Meridian at Lynden Christian, Lynden at Mount Vernon, South Whidbey at Mount Baker, Ferndale at Squalicum, Lummi Nation at Tulalip Heritage
Tuesday, Jan. 6: Bellingham at Oak Harbor, Sehome at Nooksack Valley
Wednesday, Jan. 7: Sedro-Woolley at Lynden, Mount Baker at Blaine
Thursday, Jan. 8: Anacortes at Meridian, Ferndale at Mount Vernon, Nooksack Valley at Burlington-Edison
Friday, Jan. 9: Lynden Christian at Blaine, Oak Harbor at Sehome
Saturday, Jan. 10: Lynden at Bellingham, Squalicum at Mount Baker, Lummi Nation at Neah Bay, Ferndale at Nooksack ValleySaturday, Jan. 3: Cedar Park Christian (Bothell) at Blaine, Nooksack Valley at Bellingham, Mount Baker at Meridian
NORTHWEST CONFERENCE
| League | Overall | |||
| W | L | W | L | |
| Lakewood* | 5 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| Lynden Christian | 5 | 0 | 10 | 1 |
| Anacortes | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| Burlington-Edison | 3 | 1 | 7 | 2 |
| Lynden | 3 | 1 | 6 | 4 |
| Sedro-Woolley | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| Sehome | 3 | 2 | 6 | 4 |
| Meridian | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 |
| Squalicum | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 |
| Mount Vernon | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Oak Harbor | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| Bellingham | 1 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| Blaine | 1 | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| Mount Baker | 1 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Ferndale | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| Nooksack Valley | 0 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
NORTHWEST 1B LEAGUE
| League | Overall | |||
| W | L | W | L | |
| Lummi Nation* | 3 | 0 | 9 | 1 |
| Tulalip Heritage | 2 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
| Grace Academy | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Shoreline Christian | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Cedar Park Christian (Lynnwood) | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Providence Classical Christian | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Lopez Island | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
* Does not include non-league tie.
