The Nooksack Valley Pioneers used a 9-0 run over the final 2:10 of the fourth quarter and then survived a last second shot, to beat the Mount Baker Mountaineers 59-56, Saturday afternoon, at Lynden High School.
The Pioneers advance in the District 1 Tournament to a Tuesday game for second place, while the Mountaineers season ends with a record of 9-14. The Pioneers will play the loser of Saturday’s championship game between Meridian and Lynden Christian.
Coming out of a Mountaineer timeout, senior wing Darius Gilstrap worked himself open enough to drain a 3-point shot from the left wing that gave his team a 56-50 lead with 2:10 left.
After a free throw by Pioneer senior Owen Wichers, Gilstrap missed on a 3-point attempt, but sophomore center Kell Reardon grabbed the offensive rebound, and was fouled on the put-back. Reardon missed both free throws, however, leaving the Mountaineers with a 56-51 lead with 1:21 left.
Pioneer senior guard Cory Olney hit a big 3-point shot with 1:10 left, then after a Mount Baker miss, Olney scored again on an offensive rebound and converted a free throw for a 3-point play, and the Pioneers led 57-56 with 44 seconds left.
At the other end, Gilstrap drew a foul on Pioneer senior post Brady Ackerman, but he too, missed both free throws. That led to the Mountaineers needing to foul multiple times to get senior Caden Heutink to the free throw line for the Pioneers. He hit both, giving the Pioneers a 59-56 lead with 14 seconds left.
The Mountaineers then worked the ball to front court and called a timeout. They went to Gilstrap for a 3-pointer from the left wing for the tie, but the ball rimmed out at the buzzer.
Gilstrap finished with 14 points for the Mountaineers, with Reardon adding ten points, in a big-guy stand-off with Ackerman. Olney led the Pioneers with 15 points, while Heutink added 13. Ackerman finished with nine, along with teammates Wichers and senior Tristan Kamphouse.
Kamphouse hit three 3-point shots including one near the four-minute mark of the fourth quarter. Wichers also scored nine big points off the bench for the Pioneers, with seven of those in the second half.
Mount Baker seniors Luke Smith (8) and Cole Lukes (9), both hit critical shots for the Mountaineers. Along with juniors Jordan Bailey (9) and Payten Abitia (6).
~ Ted House
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