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Mount Baker 47, Blaine 46
The Mountaineers had to come back from being down seven points at halftime, and they did just enough to keep their season alive by defeating the Borderites at home.
Blaine was focused right from the tip off, and was up 12-1 after the first five minutes of play of the first quarter, but Mount Baker was able to drive to the hoop multiple times, pick up some foul calls, and cut the lead to just five points by the end of the first quarter.
Seniors Abdul Kanagie and Josiah Weeda were the two biggest playmakers for the Borderites, and they were also two players that did not play against the Mountaineers when the two teams faced off in the regular season.
Weeda led Blaine with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Kanagie, who has battled through injury the last few weeks, also picked up a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards.
Mount Baker kept battling, however, even after losing its leading scorer, Carter Hill, to a leg injury early in the second quarter. Hill’s injury called for other players to step up, and senior forward Darius Gilstrap kept his hot streak of games alive with 13 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and four steals.
Defensively, it was sophomore center Kell Reardon who stood tall in the paint with 13 rebounds, four blocked shots and four steals.
With a little over three minutes to go in the game, Blaine was ahead 43-39, and Mount Baker cut the deficit to just one point when junior guard Jordan Bailey splashed home a deep three-pointer from straight away. Moments later, a steal by junior guard Payten Abitia led to a long outlet pass from Gilstrap to Bailey for a layup, with gave the Mountaineers the lead at 44-43 with 2:40 to go.
The Borderites then took the lead back when senior guard Jacob Dohner drove to the hoop for two points with two minutes left in the game.
After a Blaine foul under the hoop, Gilstrap then inbounded the ball to senior forward Luke Smith who put in the short-range shot, and Mount Baker now held the lead at 46-45 with 1:35 to go.
The Borderites then missed a shot, but it was rebounded by Kanagie, and he was fouled on the put-back attempt. He made one of his two foul shots, and that left the game tied at 46-46 with 1:25 left in the game.
A foul on the other end resulted in Reardon going to the foul line for the Mountaineers, and after missing the first one, he connected on the second to give his team the lead at 47-46 with just over a minute to go.
Both teams came up empty on their next possessions, and Blaine had the ball and called timeout with 13 seconds left and down by a point.
The Borderite shot attempt was missed, and rebounded by Reardon and Mount Baker came away with the victory and will now face Lynden Christian on the road on Wednesday night. Blaine’s season came to a close with the loss.
Mount Baker 47, Blaine 46
BLA 16 10 9 11 - 46
MB 11 8 16 12 - 47
Blaine: Kerwin 0, Dahl 2, Bleazard 2, Melton 9, Kanagie 14, Dohner 4, Weeda 15.
Mount Baker: L. Smith 5, Gilstrap 13, Bailey 9, G. Smith 0, Lukes 8, Abitia 2, Hill 1, Armbright 0, Reardon 9.
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