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Lynden 64, Nooksack Valley 63
High school basketball is a game of runs and momentum but neither team was able to grab hold of either. That was until Lynden senior forward Brant Heppner knocked down a shot from three-point land to tie the game at the third-quarter buzzer. The Lions then charged on a 13-2 run taking the biggest lead of the game and the momentum.
The Pioneers, however, weren’t done battling as they raced back to within two points.
With less than a minute in the game, sophomore guard Gordy Bedlington was sent to the free-throw line. His first shot fell through and his second shot bounced off the rim and into the hands of Heppner, who turned the missed single point into two points, earning an extra point that would prove vital.
The Pioneers scored the next four points and with 1.3 seconds left in the game, it was a one-point game, and Nooksack Valley’s ball. The Lynden defense held and that extra point from Heppner’s putback became the game-winning point.
Lynden junior guard Spencer Adams led with 19 points and eight rebounds, and Heppner followed with 16 points and six boards.
The Pioneers were led by senior guard Caden Heutink who finished with 23 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
Nooksack Valley was also aided by senior center Brady Ackerman who had 13 points, and senior guard Cory Olney who chipped in with 12 points.
Lydnen 64, Nooksack Valley 63
NV 17 12 19 15 - 63
LYN 16 14 18 16 - 64
Nooksack Valley: Coppinger 5, Olney 12, Heutink 23, Wichers 0, Kamphouse 8, Silves 0, D. Ackerman 0, VanBerkum 2, B. Ackerman 13.
Lynden: Navarre 0, Bedlington 5, Price 1, Bowman 2, Koenen 6, Stapleton 11, Heppner 16, Jorgenson 4, Adams 19.
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Meridian 80, Bellingham 79
The Trojans were down 79-78 and were set to inbound the ball with five seconds left in the game. They had two great options, as 6-foot-7 senior Talon Jenkins already had 35 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter alone. Or they could go with senior guard Jaeger Fyfe who was inbounding the ball, and had 21 points already under his belt.
Fyfe got the ball into sophomore Pierce Brzozowski who commanded a double-team as he drove to the hoop, and that was when he found fellow sophomore Trey Alexander in the key for the game-winning shot with no time left.
It was Alexander’s lone field goal of the game, and immediately after the final buzzer sounded he was swarmed by teammates, and classmates, as the Trojans took the hard-fought victory after being down by double-digits with less than four minutes left in the game.
Bellingham senior Kincade VanHouten led his team with 28 points, and junior forward Joe Harward was 8-of-14 from the floor for 26 points and seven rebounds.
Senior guard Harmon Weinkers his five of his 10 three-point attempts to finish with 15 points for the Bayhawks.
Meridian 80, Bellingham 79 BEL 16 21 23 19 - 79 MER 23 18 16 23 - 80 Bellingham: Wright 2, Isaly 0, G. VanHofwegen 2, Harward 26, C. VanHofwegen 6, VanHouten 28, Singh 0, Wienkers 15. Meridian: Jenkins 35, Hayes 3, Fyfe 21, James 2, Haugen 0, Blankenburg 6, Larsen 0, Alexander 3, Galbraith 0, Brzozowski 2, Harris 0, Hedahl 8.
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Squalicum 56, Oak Harbor 53
The Storm went on a 10-2 run in the final three minutes of the game to comeback and pick up their fifth win in a row to close out the regular season.
Squalicum led by eight points going into the final quarter, but the Wildcats went on a spirited 14-1 over the first five minutes of the final period.
The Storm tied the game at 53-53 with 1:14 left when sophomore guard Blake Elston stole the ball at midcourt and took it all the way to rack with a layup.
From there, sophomore guard Hunter Calloway hit a pair of free throws, and senior forward Ezra Nichols buried a foul shot to put the final dagger in the coffin.
Senior guard Marcus Nixon finished with a team-high 18 points for Squalicum, while Calloway ended with 17 points.
Elston added 10 points.
Squalicum 56, Oak Harbor 53 OH 10 8 19 16 - 53 SQU 12 19 14 11 - 56 Oak Harbor: N/A. Squalicum: Nixon 18, Hoffmann 4, Hofer 2, Calloway 17, Nichols 5, Elston 10.
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Lummi Nation 81, Concrete 18
The Blackhawks kicked off the season in early December with a win over Concrete, but there was one thing about that game… Lummi Nation sent the junior varsity team.
The Blackhawks did pick up the victory in that contest, and when they suited up the varsity team to face the Lions to begin their playoff run, dominance ensued.
The Lummi Nation defense rattled off 21 steals, and the offense knocked down 11 three-point shots and the catalyst was junior point guard Jerome Toby who finished with 25 points on 11-of-13 shooting. He also totaled 14 steals, four assists and was 3-of-4 from downtown.
Sophomore guard Dyson Edwards added 15 points, and led his team with six assists.
Lummi Nation 81, Concrete 18 Concrete: N/A. Lummi Nation: Toby 25, Edwards 15, James 9, Bob 8, LaFontaine 8, Hawk 6, Lee 5, Tageant 4, Abrams 1.
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Ferndale 77, Mount Baker 55
The Golden Eagles shook off a sluggish start and scored 20+ points in each quarter after the first, and picked up another home win on the season.
Senior forward Jonah Brillowsky used his strong inside/outside game to score a team-high 19 points, and junior forward Mantaj Singh added 18 points for Ferndale.
Senior forward Tommy Mack also showed his strong presence off the bench as he chipped in with 12 points.
The Mountaineers were led by senior forward Darius Gilstrap who scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the same gym where he made his varsity debut last season.
Senior center Cole Lukes added 10 points for Mount Baker.
Ferndale 77, Mount Baker 55 MB 10 12 12 21 - 55 FER 13 20 22 22 - 77 Mount Baker: L. Smith 7, Gilstrap 21, Bailey 2. G. Smith 1, Lukes 10, Abitia 3, Hill 2, Craven 2, Reardon 4, Ross 3, Scott 0. Ferndale: Singh 18, Brillowsky 19, Wills 7, Vincent 6, Thomas 2, Terry 2, Mack 12, Grewal 6, Dhillon 5.
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Mount Vernon 92, Blaine 49
It was a lot of running and gunning for the Bulldogs as the Borderites had trouble stopping the transition game of Mount Vernon who ripped off 53 points in the first half before picking up the home win.
Blaine senior guard Jacob Dohner was able to find his stroke from deep as he buried four 3-pointers and led the Borderites with 18 points.
Senior guard Josiah Weeda added 13 points with a combination of outside shooting, strong drives to the hoop and multiple trips to the foul line.
Mount Vernon 92, Blaine 49 BLA 13 18 13 5 - 49 MV 27 26 23 16 - 92 Blaine: Melton 7, Weeda 13, Dohner 18, Kerwin 4, Kanagie 2, Bouma 3, Brown 0, Bleazard 2, Dickson 0, Dahl 0, Banks 0, Davis 0. Mount Vernon: N/A.
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