A high scoring first half turned into a grudge match in the second half, as the Meridian Trojans defeated the Nooksack Valley Pioneers, 69-56, Wednesday night in Laurel.
The win sends the Trojans to the District Championship game against Lynden Christian, who was a 92-43 winner over Mount Baker, in the other semifinal contest. The Trojans will play the Lyncs, Saturday at 4:15pm at Lynden High School. The winner takes the district title, and a spot in the District 1/2 Crossover games.
The Trojans and Pioneers are an interesting matchup as they have previously used combination defenses to combat each other’s top scorers. Both were certainly aware of their opponent’s strengths, but went at each other with the defenses they do best: zone for the Trojans, and man-to-man for the Pioneers.
The stars were out in the first half, as the Trojans’ senior Talon Jenkins scored eight straight points in a run in the first quarter. His running mate, senior Jaeger Fyfe, did him one better, scoring 11 points in the first quarter as the Trojans led 23-20 after eight minutes.
Not to be outdone, Pioneer senior guard Caden Heutink made his presence felt all night, as he also scored 11 first-quarter points, and came within a fraction of a second of tying the score at the end of the first quarter.
With three-tenths of a second left in the opening quarter, the Pioneers were to inbound the ball from the baseline in back court. Heutink took the pass as he moved to his right across the key, and launched a baseball toss from the low post in back court that swished through the hoop at the other end. Unfortunately, basketball rules state that with only that much time left, you can only score on a tipped ball, so the shot was not allowed.
Starting the second quarter, the Trojans went deep on the roster and started five players off the bench. In the past, the Trojans have battled extreme foul trouble against the Pioneers, so maybe this was a tactic to prevent that. It also gave the Trojan starters some extra rest, and five players some good playoff experience. The plan worked, as after two and one-half minutes, the starters returned with the Trojans still leading 25-24.
A lay-in by Pioneer senior guard Cory Olney gave his team their last lead of the game, 26-25. At that point, Fyfe took over for the Trojans, scoring ten more points in the second quarter, as the Trojans stretched their lead to 40-29, late in the half.
In the first 16 minutes, Fyfe completed four drives for scores while drawing fouls each time. Three of those times he completed a 3-point play. On the one he missed, sophomore guard Pierce Brzozowski grabbed the loose ball and fed senior Canyon James for a lay-in, for a four-point trip. The Trojans led 42-34 at halftime, which wasn’t far off the 54-53 score in the Pioneers win earlier in the season.
The second half, however, was a different story for the offenses. Nothing seemed to bother Heutink, however, as he continued to score by penetrating the Trojans zone defense, and converting 11-12 free throws. He scored 17 of the Pioneers 22 second half points, totaling 30 points on the night.
Heutink gave the Pioneers some momentum by converting a 3-point-play, then nailing a 3-point shot, cutting the Trojans lead from ten points to just four, as the Trojans had scored only two points in the first four minutes of the third quarter.
Fyfe responded for the Trojans with a bucket and an assist, as they built the lead back to 56-46 at the end of the third quarter.
The story of the second half for the Trojans was the offensive support from those other than Jenkins or Fyfe. They combined for only six points in the second half, all on free throws. Jenkins four free throws came in the final minutes when the Pioneers went to foul-mode.
Junior Matthew Blankenburg came off the Trojan bench and hit two critical 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. The second of which, gave the Trojans an 18-point lead. Blankenburg scored eight of his 11 points in the second half.
Canyon James also came up big, scoring six of his eight points in the second half. Senior post James Hedahl scored ten points for the Trojans, with six of those were converting lay-ins after hustling down the floor. Something I have seen him do many times.
Fyfe scored only the two free throws in the second half, and finished with 23 points. Jenkins finished with 12.
After Heutink’s 30, Olney scored all nine of his points in the first half, and no other Pioneer scored more than five.
Nooksack Valley now has a date with Mount Baker on Saturday, at 12:45pm, at Lynden High School. That is a loser-out game. The winner will advance to the final game for second place, which will be on Tuesday, February 18, also at Lynden.
~ Ted House
Comments