YAKIMA – The Lynden Christian boys lost a narrow game last year in the semifinals, and they wouldn’t make the same mistake this season as the Lyncs defeated Royal 56-49 for a trip to the 1A state championship.
The opening quarter started up and down, fast paced, and it would remain that way until the final buzzer.
The Knights held a narrow 15-14 lead after one, but sophomore guard Dawson Hintz began to take over in the second and he finished the first half with 24 points. Royal went into the locker room at the midway break with 20 points.
The Knights hit a trio of three-pointers to begin the second half to bring the score within one point, and Hintz ended the barrage of deep balls with a layup, but that was quickly answered with another Royal three-pointer which tied the game at 32-32 with 5:45 left in the third.
Both teams traded buckets over the next few minutes, and a coast-to-coast layup by senior guard Gannon Dykstra tied the game back up at 39-39 with 1:10 left in the third quarter.
It was answered with a three-pointer by the Knights and Royal led 42-39 going into the final period.
Hintz began the fourth quarter with a three-pointer to tie the game, and that was followed up on a quick inbound play from junior forward Boyce Robertson to sophomore center Kaden Veldman to give LC a lead with 6:15 left in the game.
Another layup by Dykstra gave Lynden Christian a four-point cushion, which kept going back and forth between two and four points, until Royal hit a three-pointer with 3:50 left in the game to get within one point, 50-49.
Dykstra went 3-of-4 from the foul line to give the Lyncs a 53-49 lead, and after Royal missed multiple contested shots in the paint, Veldman was able to seal the game with another strong shot down low.
Hintz finished with 33 points on 13-of-19 shooting. He also grabbed nine rebounds and three steals. Dykstra had 14 points and six boards, while Veldman finished with six points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots.
The Lyncs (24-2) will face top-ranked Annie Wright tomorrow at 5:00 for the state championship.
Lynden Christian 56, Royal 49 LC 14 16 9 17 - 56 ROY 15 5 22 7 - 49
Lynden Christian: Hintz 33, Gu. Dykstra 3, Ahlers 0, Robertson 0, Ga. Dykstra 14, VanKooten 0, Veldman 6.
Royal: N/A.
