The first-round elimination game was played Monday evening at Mount Baker, as the #4 Mountaineers hosted #5 Blaine. This was a loser out game, with the winner advancing to the semifinals, and a date with Lynden Christian on Wednesday.
The Mountaineers, who trailed for most of the contest, eliminated the Borderites, 47-46. That sends Mount Baker (3-12/9-12) to a semifinal game, Wednesday, 7:15pm at Lynden Christian (13-1/18-2).
There are four teams remaining, and two will advance to the District 1/2 crossover games against the 4th and 5th place teams from District 2.
As it was last year, the real intrigue in this tournament is the fight for that second berth, as Lynden Christian is the heavy favorite to claim the top spot, once again.
That fight could, again, come down to the two who are matched up in the other semifinal. #3 Nooksack Valley (6-9/10-9) and #2 Meridian (10-5/14-6) will tangle possibly twice, before it is all settled.
However, Mount Baker is still in the mix, and has a convincing win over the Pioneers this season. So, let’s not look too far ahead. But I will.
Last year, the Trojans and the Pioneers played this game at Nooksack, and the Trojans took a 67-62 win, after losing at Nooksack during the regular season. This year, the Pioneers got a last second win over the Trojans in their regular season matchup.
The winner will advance to the championship game, while the loser will play a loser out game. They could meet a second time, as they did last year, for second place.
The Trojans have won four straight games, while the Pioneers have won two of their last four. But the Pioneers raised some eyebrows with their one-point loss to Lynden in the last game of the regular season.
The post play of Brady Ackerman, especially early in the game, could be a key ingredient to a Pioneer victory. He maneuvers well in traffic, and can create foul trouble (more on that later). Also watch for the mid-range jump shooting of senior guard, Corey Olney.
Watch for the Pioneers to possibly use combination defenses that they have used successfully against the Trojans.
Meridian must stay out of foul trouble, which is something that seems to be commonplace when they play the Pioneers. Also, if the Pioneers use a box or triangle defense on Talon Jenkins and Jaeger Fyfe, 6-6 senior James Hedahl will have to make hay inside, and those young Trojan guards will have to step up, as they did in their earlier game with the Pioneers this season.
They will play at 7:30 pm, Wednesday, at Meridian. The girl’s matchup is the exact opposite of the boys. The Trojan girls will play at Nooksack Valley at 5:00pm, Wednesday. That gives fans time to get to both games.
Semifinal winners will play in the championship game, Saturday, at Lynden High School, at 4:15pm. The semifinal losers will play in a loser out game, Saturday, at 12:45pm, also at LHS.
The loser of the championship game will play the consolation winner, Tuesday, February 18, at 7:45pm, again at LHS, for second place.
~ Ted House
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