Whatcom Hoops: Boys Weeks 4 And 5 Recap (Dec. 19-31)

Happy New Year to all!

Because the cold and snow forced the cancellation of most of Week 4’s games, we’ve combined Weeks 4 and 5 in Whatcom Hoops Sunday recap this week.

For a look back at Weeks 4 and 5 for our county girls teams, check out the Whatcom Hoops girls recap.

Most teams competed in holiday tournaments or got in a couple of non-league games during the winter break, so the top of the standings remained pretty much the same as we head into the second half of the regular season.

Blaine, Lynden, Lynden Christian, and Sehome sit atop the Northwest Conference along with Anacortes, and Lummi Nation is unbeaten in the Northwest 1B League play along with Tulalip Heritage and Grace Academy.

Here are the boys highlights from Week 4 and 5.

GAME OF THE WEEK

Mount Baker junior post Jesse Harward put in a rebound with a few seconds left to cap a 51-50 come-from-behind victory over Bellingham on Thursday. The Bayhawks led by double digits early in the second quarter, but the Mounties took the lead by halftime and the two teams traded leads until the exciting ending.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Lummi Nation freshman Jerome Toby had an outstanding holiday tournament scoring 19 points against Mossyrock and 24 points against Wahkiakum, both on Wednesday, and following that with 21 points on Thursday and 27 points on Friday. Senior Richard Wilson also had 27 points on Friday for the Blackhawks, and junior Tobias Francis added 15 points against Wahkiakum. … Lynden junior Anthony Canales had 27 points on Friday, and senior Coston Parcher had 25 points against Gig Harbor on Dec. 22, and 19 points on Thursday against Grandview. … Bellingham sophomore Harmon Wienkers had 25 points on Thursday. … Sehome senior Grey Garrison had 23 points on Dec. 19, 23 points on Thursday, and 20 more on Friday. Senior Mat Storms added 18 points on Dec. 19 and 19 on Friday, and senior Grant Kepley had 19 points on Thursday and another 19 on Friday. … Lynden Christian senior Griffin Dykstra had 23 points on Tuesday, and junior Jeremiah Wright had 17 points on Wednesday. … Freshman Joe Harward had 20 points and junior brother Jesse had 16 for Mount Baker on Dec. 22. … Blaine junior Noah Tavis had 19 points on Tuesday and 17 on Thursday. Lucas Smith had 16 in each game for the Borderites, and fellow seniors Carson Lehnert and Matt Russ had 17 and 16 points, respectively, on Thursday. … Sophomore Jaeger Fyfe had 18 points on Friday as Meridian swept two games in Yakima. … Senior Bennett DeLange led Nooksack Valley with 16 points on Thursday, and sophomores Caden Heutink and Brady Ackerman had 15 points each on Wednesday. … Ferndale seniors Damien Toney and Mathias Johnson had 16 points each on Tuesday. 

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK

BLAINE beat Friday Harbor on Tuesday, 80-32, and Cedarcrest on Thursday, 71-53. On Tuesday, the Borderites were able to get all 15 players into the game and 10 scored as they jumped to a 24-5 first-quarter lead and rolled past the Wolverines. Tavis led the scoring with 19 points, Smith had 16, Lehnert had 14 with a pair of 3-pointers, and Russ added 9. On Thursday, the Borderites and Red Wolves played a special non-league game at Everett Community College. Tavis hit three 3s and scored 17 points to lead  balanced attack with Smith and Russ collecting 16 points each and Lehnert adding 15.

LYNDEN CHRISTIAN won both its games in the Mountlake Terrace Holiday Tournament, beating host Mountlake Terrace on Tuesday, 59-46, and Glacier Peak on Wednesday, 55-44. On Tuesday, the Lyncs used a 21-point first quarter to take command and hold off the Hawks. Dykstra sank three 3-pointers among his 23 points, and Wright added 10 points. On Wednesday, the Lyncs’ defense held Glacier Peak to 19 second-half points to secure the win. Wright had 17 points, Dykstra had 14 and senior Tyler Sipma had 13, including seven straight free throws in the fourth quarter.

MERIDIAN won both its games at the Wilbur-Ellis Sundome Shootout, knocking off Royal on Thursday, 48-43, and Wapato on Friday, 53-43. On Thursday, the Trojans used a 13-2 run in the final 3:30, including a big 3-pointer from junior Taran Burks, to beat the Knights. Fyfe had a team-high 12 points, sinking all four of his free throws in the crucial final period, and senior Hunter Jones and sophomore Talon Jenkins had 10 points each with Jenkins hitting 3 of 4 from the line in the fourth quarter. On Friday, the Trojans used another late run — scoring 15 of the final 19 points — to best Wapato. Fyfe had 18 points, and Jenkins hit four 3-pointers and had 14 points. 

NOOKSACK VALLEY defeated Lummi Nation on Dec. 19, 58-35; beat Bear Creek in a non-league contest on Wednesday, 65-47, and in the Sundome Shootout knocked off Ridgefield on Thursday, 55-42, and lost to Ellensburg on Friday, 49-38. Against Lummi Nation, the Pioneers jumped out to an 18-2 lead and had eight of nine players score. Heutink’s 13 points led the way followed by Ackerman and DeLange with 9 each, and sophomore Colten Lentz with 8. On Wednesday, Heutink and Ackerman had 15 points each with Heutink hitting three 3s. Lentz also chipped in a dozen points. Against Ridgefield, DeLange led the Pioneers with 16 points and Lentz contributed 11 as Nooksack held the Spudders to four fourth-quarter points to secure the win. On Friday, the Pioneers rallied in the fourth quarter but couldn’t catch the Class 2A Bulldogs. Ackerman and junior Wayne Silves had 12 points each, and DeLange chipped in with 9. 

LYNDEN lost to Gig Harbor on Dec. 22, 70-63, and won both games in the Wilbur-Ellis Sundome Shootout in Yakima, beating Grandview on Thursday, 67-51, and Prosser on Friday, 58-53. Against Gig Harbor on the road, the Lions suffered their first loss when they fell into a 10-point hole in the first quarter, took a brief fourth-quarter lead, but couldn’t hold off the Class 3A Tides. Parcher hit five 3-points and was 9 of 13 from the field for his 25 points. Canales added 13 points, and sophomore Brant Heppner had 12 points and 9 rebounds. In Yakima on Thursday, Lynden took a 20-point lead into halftime and coasted to victory. Parcher had 19 points, 8 rebounds, and was 3 for 3 on 3-pointers; Canales had 14 points and 11 rebounds; and senior Trey Smiley collected 8 rebounds and 7 assists. On Friday, Lynden completed a sweep of the Yakima Valley’s best, coming from behind in the fourth quarter and then holding off the Mustangs. Canales had 20 of his 27 points in the second half, a pair of 3-pointers, and 8 rebounds. Smiley had 7 rebounds and 6 assists, and Heppner added 8 points, including a couple of 3s.

MOUNT BAKER defeated Granite Falls on Dec. 22, 79-47; beat Bellingham on Thursday, 51-50; and lost to Anacortes on Saturday, 85-44. Against Granite Falls, the Mounties blew open a close game with a 25-point fourth quarter. The Harward brothers combined for 36 points, and seniors Ethan Larson and Kaden Hill had 13 points each. In the thriller with the Bayhawks, Jesse Harward had 11 points, and Larson and senior Jacob Wade had 9 each as eight of the 10 Mounties scored. On Saturday, the Mounties couldn’t get their offense going against the Seahawks. Larson led Baker with 11 points.

SEHOME beat Bellingham on Dec. 19, 85-57, and split two games at the Wilbur-Ellis Sundome Shootout in Yakima, losing to Prosser in overtime on Thursday, 64-59, and beating Grandview on Friday, 67-48. Against their city rivals, the Mariners jumped to a 24-12 first-quarter lead and never let up. Garrison and Duckworth dominated inside with 23 points and 18 points, respectively, and guards Storms and Kepley added 19 and 14 points, respectively. On Thursdays, the Mariners couldn’t hold an eight-point halftime despite 23 points from Garrison and 19 from Kepley. On Friday, Sehome rebounded from its first loss thanks to 20 points from Garrison and 19 each from Kepley and Storms, with the latter hitting three 3-pointers.

SQUALICUM beat Burlington-Edison on Dec. 19, 48-43, and in the Tournament of Champions Holiday Classic in Seattle beat Thunder Mountain of Juneau, Alaska, on Wednesday, 77-41, and lost to host Franklin on Thursday, 49-44, and to Woodinville on Friday, 58-51.

LUMMI NATION lost to Nooksack Valley on Dec. 19, 58-35, and then played four games in three days in the Mount Vernon Christian Holiday Tournament. The Blackhawks lost to Mossyrock, 63-51, and to Wahkiaium, 60-58, both on Wednesday; lost to Neah Bay on Thursday, 70-63; and beat Orcas Island on Friday, 63-49. Against Nooksack Valley, senior Frank Solomon had 12 points and Toby had 11 points, but the Blackhawks couldn’t keep up with the Class 1A Pioneers. On Wednesday, Mossyrock used a 31-point third quarter to pull away from Lummi Nation. Toby had 19 points and Wilson added 10 points. In Wednesday’s second game, the Blackhawks used their own 31-point fourth quarter to rally from a 17-point deficit but couldn’t quite catch Wahkiakum. Toby sank seven 3-pointers and had 24 points, Francis sank four 3s among his 15 points, and junior Mathias Johnson added 11 points. On Thursday, the Blackhawks couldn’t hold the lead in the fourth quarter and fell to Neah Bay despite 21 points from Toby, 14 from Johnson, and 11 from Wilson. On Friday, Toby and Wilson combined for 54 points with Toby hitting five 3-pointers as the Blackhawks avenged an earlier loss to Orcas Island.

FERNDALE lost a pair of games in the Mountlake Terrace Holiday Tournament to Kentlake on Tuesday, 62-54, and to Lake Stevens on Wednesday, 58-52. On Tuesday, the Golden Eagles rallied to cut a double-digit deficit to four with a minute left but couldn’t pull off the come-from-behind victory. Toney and Johnson combined for 32 points with Toney going 8 of 10 from the line and Johnson making three 3-pointers. On Wednesday, the Golden Eagles were down by 15 at halftime but held Lake Stevens to 19 second-half points to almost knock off the Class 4A squad. Juniors Bishop Ootsey and Bhavnoor Grewall had 11 points each, and Toney and senior Lucas Mills had 9 each.

BELLINGHAM lost to Sehome on Dec. 19, 85-57; to Mount Baker on Thursday, 51-50; and to Marysville-Getchell on Friday, 65-55. Against their city rivals, the Bayhawks fell into a double-digit hole in the first quarter and couldn’t dig themselves out. Junior Ian O’Roarty sank three 3s and scored 12 points and sophomore Kincade VanHouten collected 11 points for Bellingham. On Thursday in his first varsity start, Wienkers hit seven 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 25 points but the Bayhawks couldn’t hold on to a double-digit lead. On Friday, junior Wyatt Stephan led the balanced Bayhawks attack with 14 points. Wienkers had 12, including three 3s, VanHouten had 11, and junior Elias Togage had 9.

WEEK 6

TOP GAME

Grace Academy is at Lummi Nation on Friday as part of a doubleheader with the girls game at 5:30 p.m. and the boys at 7 p.m. The Blackhawks and the Eagles are undefeated in the Northwest 1B League.

SCHEDULE

Monday, Jan. 2: Bellingham at Ferndale, Blaine at Nooksack Valley, Sedro-Woolley at Lynden

Tuesday, Jan. 3: Meridian at Burlington-Edison, Squalicum at Mount Vernon, Nooksack Valley at Lynden

Wednesday, Jan. 4: Lynden Christian at Mount Baker, Oak Harbor at Sehome, Lummi Nation at Shoreline Christian

Thursday, Jan. 5: Lynden at Bellingham, Blaine at Sedro-Woolley, Anacortes at Squalicum, Mount Baker at Meridian

Friday, Jan. 6: Ferndale at Oak Harbor, Nooksack Valley at Lynden Christian, Sehome at Lakewood, Grace Academy at Lummi Nation

Saturday, Jan. 7: Bellingham at Sequim, Mount Vernon at Meridian, Burlington-Edison at Mount Baker

NORTHWEST CONFERENCE

League Overall
W L W L
Sehome 5 0 8 1
Anacortes 4 0 8 1
Blaine 4 0 7 1
Lynden Christian 4 0 9 0
Lynden 3 0 6 1
Nooksack Valley 2 2 5 3
Bellingham 2 3 3 5
Squalicum 2 3 4 6
Lakewood 1 2 4 5
Ferndale 1 3 1 7
Meridian 1 3 5 3
Oak Harbor 1 3 3 5
Sedro-Woolley 1 3 3 5
Burlington-Edison 1 4 2 6
Mount Baker 0 3 2 3
Mount Vernon 0 3 4 4



NORTHWEST 1B LEAGUE

 League   Overall
W L W L
Grace Academy 4 0 4 1
Tulalip Heritage 4 0 7 0
Lummi Nation 3 0 6 5
Shoreline Christian 2 2 3 2
Fellowship Christian 1 2 1 3
Cedar Park Christian (Lynnwood) 1 3 1 4
Lopez Island 0 4 0 4
Providence Classical Christian 0 4 0 5

 

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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