At this point of the season, everyone needs wins. For some, it’s a race for the league title. For others, it’s a race within the district RPI. For others, it’s a race just to get into the post season.
Whatever the situation, every team takes a different path to where they are. This is also about the time of year that teams need to make it through “Danger Week.” There were some upsets, and some near upsets. It’s like some teams get a little drowsy about this time in the trip, and needs a visit from Skin Bracer, for that old “slap on the face.”
“Thanks. I needed that.”
That even equates to specific games. Take, for example, the paths that Lakewood and Burlington-Edison used to both reach 77 points at the end of regulation on Monday. The Tigers came from way behind, twice, to beat the Cougars, 95-89 in two overtimes, Monday at Lakewood.
The Tigers have recently struggled against the top teams in the NWC, with double-digit losses to Lynden Christian, Anacortes, and Lynden. They got a 33-point win over Oak Harbor, wedged in between those three losses.
The Tigers, at 4-5 in the NWC, were also looking up in the standings at the Cougars, who were 7-2 prior to tipoff.
It was bombs away for the Cougars in the first eight minutes. As the Tigers scored first, the Cougars responded with a pair of 3-pointers to take the lead. But they didn’t stop there.
Lakewood’s first four field goals were all 3-pointers, and five of their first six makes were threes. When junior forward Caleb Greenland nailed one at the buzzer, that was the Cougars seventh 3-pointer of the quarter, as they took a 35-20 lead after eight minutes. Yes, 35 points in the opening quarter.
Hitting 3’s is Lakewood’s game. But sometimes it can be “live by the three, die by the three.” I’ve seen many teams hit a bunch of them early, then rely on them, too much, the rest of the way. However, with the Tigers of 6-8 Timophy Feskov and 6-6 Logan Heigert lurking around the rim, it would seem that 3’s would be the way to go.
Now, they certainly didn’t die by the three, as they hit more as the game went on, but in the fourth quarter and in the overtime periods, they weren’t falling for the Cougars.
Back to the game, where with that 15-point lead at the quarter, the Cougars quickly expanded that to 40-20 in the first minute of the second quarter. Then, down 48-31 with 1:50 left, the Tigers scored the last six points of the half, cutting the lead to 48-37.
The Tigers got the lead to under ten points through most of the third quarter, then finally tied the game at 55-55 on an inside bucket by Feskov. But the Cougars responded with an 8-0 run, and ended the quarter with a 63-57 lead.
At the 3:46 mark on the fourth quarter, the Cougars had a comfortable 76-64 lead, but the Tigers caught fire, scoring 11 straight points, to trail 76-75 with 31 seconds left.
After a free throw gave the Cougars a 2-point lead, senior Spencer Betz scored in the key to tie the game at 77-77 with ten seconds left. After a timeout, the Cougars missed a 3-pointer, sending the game to overtime.
Fast forward to the final 26 seconds, where the game was at 83-83, and Lakewood with the ball and 25 seconds on the shot clock.
After killing time out front, the Cougars maneuvered the ball to the middle of the key, when a pass to the weak side was tipped by the Tigers, sending the ball to the left corner. The Cougars could not recover in time, resulting in a shot-clock violation.
The Tigers tried a three-quarter floor pass to Feskov in the final 1.6 seconds, but the ball was tipped away by the Cougars, resulting in a second overtime, tied at 83-83.
With the score tied at 89-89, the Cougars missed a 3-point shot, and the Tigers pushed the ball back up the floor. Junior guard Madden Whitlock received a pass on the left wing and took the dribble into the middle of the key and scored on a short jumper with 38 seconds left.
After another Cougar 3-point miss, Whitlock was fouled with 15 seconds to play. He made both free throws, giving the Tigers a 93-89 lead. Another miss by the Cougars and another foul, and junior guard Keoni Thornhill hit two more free throws, for the final of 95-89.
The Tigers broke a four-game losing streak in road games, while this was the fourth straight loss at home for the Cougars, which doesn’t seem possible.
The Tigers rebounded after being down by 20 points early in the second quarter, and by 12 points in the middle of the fourth quarter. The Tigers were the Tortoise and the Cougars were the Hare.
According to the Skagit Valley Herald, Feskov led all five Tiger starters in double-figures with 27 points, 23 rebounds, and six blocked shots. The number that really stands out, is the 23 next to rebounds.
I tell ya, this is going to be an epic 2A district tournament. There are any number of teams with a good chance at the two state allocations. Prior outcomes won’t matter. But what makes it so tight is the competitiveness between those teams. It will be a very tight squeeze to get through that funnel.
On Monday at Bellingham, no one needed a good start to a game more than the Bayhawks. Early deficits of 9-0 and 15-0 in their last two outings were not ideal situations.
Against Mount Vernon, the Bayhawks took a 14-2 lead in the first three minutes of the contest, in route to a 74-66 win. That broke a three-game losing streak, and keeps the Bayhawks in fourth place in the District RPI standings, one spot ahead of Burlington.
The Bayhawks used the inside-outside tandem of junior forward Joe Harward and senior wing, Kincade Vanhouten. The two combined for 33 of the Bayhawks 44 first half points, and a 17-point lead.
Harward had 20 points by halftime, dominating the inside, and even hitting a 3-pointer for good measure. Vanhouten hit three 3-pointers in the first half for 13 of his 21 points on the night. Harward led the Bayhawks with 28.
Senior guard Michael Johnson got into the offensive flow in the second half where he scored 19 of his game-high 30 points.
Down 59-50 after three quarters, the Bulldogs pulled to within five points twice in the fourth quarter, the last time with just under five minutes to play, but could not put real pressure on the Bayhawks in the final minutes.
In the “all-to-early” district tournament forecasts, the fourth seed in the 2A District Tournament hosts the fifth seed in the first round. Right now, Bellingham would host Burlington.
Mount Vernon should make the 3A District Tournament as a lower seed, and will have to win a loser out, road game in the first round.
On Tuesday, Lynden landed in Laurel to take on the Meridian Trojans. The Lions had beaten Kings at the Showare Center the day before, and I thought this would be a very challenging spot for the undefeated and top-ranked Lions. The Trojans, a top-ten 1A team, proved that thought. The Lions were pushed for 32 minutes, but survived Laurel, 62-56, in their narrowest conference win of the season.
The Trojans game plan worked from the opening tip. They got exactly what they wanted out of it, and only switched out of it briefly during the game.
It was a “triangle-and-two” defense, that put defenders in the chest of the Lions Brant Heppner and Spencer Adams. Then a 1-2 zone, with the Trojans Jaeger Fyfe at the top, with Talon Jenkins and James Hedahl on the baseline.
It’s difficult to figure out what offense to run against defenses like this. What happened was, the two man-to-man defenders all but eliminated the 3-point shooting of Heppner and Adams. Heppner did not attempt a 3-point shot, so with a smaller player defending him, his scoring was limited to the interior. For Adams, he was able to get away only three shots from outside the arc.
At the other end, the Lions had their own defensive challenges trying to contain Jenkins and Fyfe. Even defended by the 6-5 Ty Jorgenson and the 6-7 Jack Stapleton, the 6-7 Jenkins was still able to get loose for 12 first quarter points and a pair of 3-pointers, as the Trojans claimed an 18-13 lead at the first break.
After the Trojans added another bucket for a 7-point lead, the Lions came back to tie the score at 24-24 in the middle of the second quarter. Then Fyfe and Jenkins hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Trojans a six-point lead. The half ended with the Trojans still up 32-29.
While the triangle-and-two took away something, it also opened up something. That something was mid-range shots around the foul line, and 3-point shots by someone other than Heppner or Adams.
In the mid-range area, which the Lions often excel in, Stapleton and Jorgenson got their pick of shots but could only combined to hit 6-23 from the field on the night. But those six were just enough.
On the outside, with only a single defender at the top of the zone, the wings were the open areas, and the 3-point accuracy of Lions sophomore guard, Malachi Koenen, proved to be the difference for the Lions.
Koenen hit 5-9 from 3-point land on the night. He hit three in a row in the third quarter as the Lions outscored the Trojans 15-6. The Trojans landed only a single field goal in the quarter, and the Lions led by as much as eight points.
The Lions limited the Trojans to just two field goals over the first 13 minutes of the second half, and led by as much as ten points late in the fourth quarter.
As the teams traded free throws late in the game, and the Trojans doing everything they could to close the gap, Heppner added an exclamation point on the night with a mid-court steal and 2-hand throw-down with 35 seconds left.
Jenkins hit only two 2-pointers in the second half, but spent a lot of time on the free throw line, where he hit 13-14 on the night for 32 points. Hedahl added 12 for the Trojans, while Fyfe finished with 11. The only other point for the Trojans was a single free throw by sophomore guard, Pierce Brzozowski in the fourth quarter.
Heppner was still able to lead the Lions with 18 points. Koenen finished with 16, and 10 for Stapleton.
On Wednesday, the other undefeated NWC team also survived a test. The Lyncs used a late 15-1 run to pull away from the Anacortes Seahawks, 71-55, in the LC gym.
The Lyncs are a quick-strike team, and if you don’t keep up at your offensive end, your missed shots have a good chance of starting a Lyncs fast break. Early on, the Seahawks did a good job keeping up.
After trailing 6-0, the Seahawks stayed the course, and a 3-point shot from the top of the key by senior Brennen Morgenthaler gave his team a 13-9 lead. The Lyncs came back to lead 15-13 at the end of the quarter, on a Luke VanKooten 3-point shot with 30 seconds left.
The Seahawks zone defense was their most successful defense in trying to slow down the LC offense. And when the Seahawks had the ball, they spread the floor and had success going one-on-one to the hoop. But when they didn’t finish, the Lyncs would take quick advantage.
Leading 25-24 with 3:00 left in the half, the Lyncs ran off seven straight points, eventually leading 32-26 at the half.
Gannon Dykstra, the Lyncs leading scorer, only made the scoring column with two free throws late in the half. Fortunately, for the Lyncs, many others picked up the slack, as a total of eight players scored in the first half. Sophomore Gunner Dykstra scored seven points in the first quarter, and junior guard Eli Maberry came off the bench to nail two 3-pointers in the second quarter.
The Lyncs opened up a nine-point lead in the third quarter, but five straight points by junior forward Micah Dickison closed the gap to four. Then Gunnar and VanKooten hit 3-point shots to push the LC lead to ten.
Sophomore wing Spencer Roberts started a Seahawks run, scoring on an offensive rebound. Then senior guard Jake Andrew scored on a hard drive down the middle. Then on defense, Andrew came up with a steal, and in transition to the hoop, was fouled and made one of two free throws. Roberts then capped the run with a 3-pointer, and the Lyncs lead was suddenly down to two, 47-45, at the end of the third quarter.
With the Lyncs leading 50-48, sophomore guard Dawson Hintz nailed a 3-pointer, then converted a 3-point play for a 56-48 lead. The kick-start by Hintz led to a 15-1 run for the Lyncs, that put them up, 65-49.
Hintz led the Lyncs with 17 points, as ten of those came in the fourth quarter. Gunnar Dykstra was next with 16. Gannon Dykstra did not hit a field goal until the 2:50 mark of the fourth quarter on a 3-pointer, and finished with 7 points. VanKooten scored 11 on the night, hitting three 3-pointers, which all seemed to be at the perfect time for the Lyncs.
Yes, Gannon Dykstra was off the mark shooting the ball on this night. But even so, he’s not someone the defense can ever ignore, and he was certainly effective in setting up teammates.
Dickison’s 22 points led the Seahawks, with Andrew contributing a dozen.
The Seahawks can’t blame the loss on free throw shooting, but had they been more accurate than their 7-18 night at the stripe, the tone of the fourth quarter could have been different. The Lyncs were 5-5 from the free throw line for the game.
At the end of the night, the Lyncs stayed even with the Lions in the standings at 10-0. The Seahawks tied with Lakewood and Sedro-Woolley for third place with 7-3 NWC records.
Mount Baker outscored Nooksack Valley by 14 points in the fourth quarter, and took a 59-47 victory over the Pioneers, Wednesday at Kay LeMaster Gym.
The win pulled the Mountaineers (3-7) to within one game of the Pioneers (4-6) in the standings, and broke the Pioneers four game win streak.
The three conference wins they have earned so far this season, are the most they have had since they were 2-11 in the 2019 and 2020 seasons. Their eight total wins are the most since their 16-14 record in 2017-18.
(In the off-kilter, spring season of 2021, the Mountaineers finished with an 8-6 record).
On Thursday, Danger Week continued as last place Blaine led first place Lynden, 17-7, late in the first quarter, after a 3-pointer by senior Josiah Weeda brought the Borderite crowd to their feet and forced a Lynden timeout.
However, over the last 96 seconds of the first quarter, the Lions scored ten straight points, capped by a 3-pointer by Brody Price at the buzzer.
The Borderites then scored the first bucket of the second quarter, but the Lions would have a ten-point advantage by halftime, 35-25.
The Borderites were down, but they didn’t go away. After whittling the Lions lead down to 54-47 early in the fourth quarter, Spencer Adams came through for the Lions, hitting 3-pointers on consecutive trips, first from the right wing, then the left wing, building the Lions lead to 60-47.
After the Lions took their largest lead of the night, 64-47, the Borderites scored nine straight points, capped by a put-back by senior forward Dulio Kanagie, and the Borderites were back in it, trailing 64-56 with 4:00 to play.
But the Borderites could get no closer, having to settle for a moral victory, in a 73-60 loss to the top-ranked Lions.
With the improvement of both the Mountaineers and the Borderites over this season alone, the five-team 1A district tournament will be another tight squeeze, as just two teams will continue on.
Speaking of Mount Baker, junior guard Xavier Ochoa ruined their Friday night, as he converted two scores in the final 90 seconds to give his Oak Harbor Wildcats a 52-51 win, under the Mountaineers dome.
The game was tight throughout the contest, with the Mountaineers leading 42-34 late in the third quarter. But the Wildcats caught fire, going on a 14-2 run for a 48-44 lead with three minutes left.
Mount Baker’s senior wing Luke Smith hit two free throws with 1:40 to play to give his team a 50-48 lead.
Ochoa then converted quickly in transition as he maneuvered down the middle of the key for a lay-in to tie the score at 50-50.
After empty possessions by both teams, junior guard Carter Hill split two free throws with 49 seconds left. On the miss, the Mountaineers corralled the rebound and called timeout, leading by one with 40 seconds left. They were unable to convert, missing a shot with 20 seconds left.
Then, as he did before, Ochoa took the ball the length of the floor and scored through a crowded key, with a right-hand scoop lay-in from the left side of the rim. The Mountaineers called a timeout with 11 seconds to play with the ball in back court.
The Wildcats applied full court defense, but the Mountaineers were able to dribble the ball quickly into front court. The ball ended up in the hands of senior guard Darius Gilstrap on the right wing. As time was running out, he dribbled left around a screen, but the Wildcat defenders switched quickly, staying tight with Gilstrap, who was unable to get off a clean shot as time ran out.
The win pulled the Wildcats (3-8) to within one game of Mount Vernon (4-7) for the final playoff spot for the 3A district tournament. The Bulldogs beat the Wildcats early in the season.
The Anacortes Seahawks did not make it through Danger Week. They put their 7-3 NWC record up against 2-8 Squalicum on Friday, and the Storm hit. Squalicum pulled off the upset, 57-52 on their home floor.
The Seahawks led by as much as ten points in the second quarter, but when Storm sophomore guard Blake Elston hit a three from the top of the key late in the third quarter, the Storm took the lead, 34-32 and led the rest of the way, as the Seahawks scored only five points in the quarter.
Also on Friday, the Lynden Christian Lyncs made it through Danger Week unscathed and stayed on the undefeated collision course with rival Lynden, beating Nooksack Valley, 82-69, in front of a big crowd in the LC gym.
Offensively, the Lyncs can go off like a handful of firecrackers. You do your best to take good shots and control tempo, but one little slip-up, and off they go.
The Lyncs defense centered on Pioneers senior point guard, Caden Heutink. That worked, limiting him to just four points in the first half. It did, however, open up Heutink’s running mate, senior Cory Olney, who hit a variety of mid-range jumpers, scoring 12 points in the first eight minutes.
But the Lyncs had six players score in the first quarter and took a 25-17 lead.
The Pioneers continued to stay within range, down 39-29 with 45 seconds left in the half. That’s when someone lit the fuse.
Gannon Dykstra hit a fall-away 18-footer over the tight defense of Heutink to start things off.
After a Lyncs foul, the Pioneers sideline inbounds pass was tipped and stolen by the Lyncs, which led to a lay-in by sophomore guard, Dawson Hintz. Then, as the Pioneers quickly transitioned, a missed 3-point shot from the left corner was rebounded by Hintz, and he went the distance for another lay-in.
The Pioneers ensuing inbounds pass was fumbled and stolen by the Lyncs. Sophomore Gunnar Dykstra passed up an easy 8-footer, and hit brother Gannon on the wing, who nailed a 3-pointer with eight seconds left in the half.
So, from the first 2-pointer by Gannon, to the last 3-pointer by Gannon, the Lyncs scored nine points in 37 seconds.
That was a huge moment in the game, as the LC lead ballooned from 39-29 to 48-29 in the blink of an eye.
And, with the Pioneers outscoring the Lyncs 40-34 in the second half, the ending may have been much more exciting.
Gannon’s 30 points led the Lyncs with Gunnar tossing in 17. Hintz and sophomore forward Kaden Veldman added 10 points each.
Olney finished with 19 points for the Pioneers, with Heutink and senior forward, Tristan Kamphouse finishing with 15 points each.
There were two conference games on Saturday in which none of the four teams were in any danger. Burlington-Edison pulled away from Ferndale late in the game for a 66-58 win. And Lakewood used a fast start and some incredible passing to win at Meridian, 77-62.
In the matinee in Burlington, the Tigers backcourt was shortened by the sick bug. But the 6-8 senior Timophy Feskov, made up for all of that by scoring 31 points for the Tigers.
That also overcame the stellar play of Golden Eagle junior, Mantaj Singh, who poured in 26 points.
The Tigers offense concentrated on scoring in the interior. If Feskov or 6-6 junior forward Logan Heigert wasn’t posting up for scores, the ball eventually found the hands at the end of the long arms of Feskov for a score from an offensive rebound. The Tigers hit only one and attempted on a few 3-pointers in the game, with junior guard Madden Whitlock hitting that in the fourth quarter.
At the other end, the Golden Eagles hit six threes in the first half and nine for the game.
That shot that Whitlock hit came with 2:40 left in the game, giving the Tigers a 59-53 lead.
The teams traded baskets before Singh hit a left wing 3-pointer over the outstretched hand of Feskov, cutting the Tigers lead to 61-58 with 90 seconds left.
After a Ferndale miss, Whitlock got a bucket on a breakaway for a five-point lead. Another miss by Ferndale and they were forced to foul but had no team fouls until their first with 32 seconds left. They quickly committed four more in the next five seconds.
Heigert went to the free throw line with 27 seconds left but went 0-2. The Golden Eagles could not cash in, however, as after two more missed field goals, the Tigers were able to get to the finish line.
Senior forward Hunter Wills had a strong game for the Golden Eagles, scoring 17 points, and fellow senior Jonah Brillowsky adding 12. Junior guard Cooper Vincent had the only other points for Ferndale, hitting a first quarter 3-pointer.
The Tigers also had only four players in the scoring column, but all were in double-figures. After Feskov’s 31, Heigert scored 14, Whitlock 11, and senior guard Spencer Betz scored 10.
Back up I-5 to Laurel, it didn’t take long for the Cougars to get the engine revved up, as they passed and defended their way to a 26-16 lead at the end of the first quarter.
If I were the coach of any team in the league, I would be most concerned about playing Lakewood. Sure, they have no 6-8 guys, or even 6-4 guys. But they play an attacking zone, and pass the ball better than any team in the league. And, with a little flair on top of it.
On this night, they went away from their normal 2-3 zone, for more of a triangle-and-two, much like the Trojans used on Lynden earlier in the week.
Porter Espe was assigned to the chest of Talon Jenkins, and JJ Hoekendorf to the same with Jaeger Fyfe. The top of the triangle was manned by senior, and four-year starter, Evan Stacey, who covers the ground of two players.
Stacey did a night’s worth of work in the first eight minutes, scoring ten points, dishing out several assists, some of the no-look variety, and got his fingers on any ball that came near him.
The Cougars defense held the Trojans without a 3-pointer in the first half and led 41-26 at intermission. The Cougars had eight players in the scoring column in the first half.
Jenkins was able to use his size to score inside, netting 12 points in the first half.
Late in the third quarter, the Cougars led 54-34 and were still up by 18 at the start of the fourth quarter.
The Trojans used the first four minutes of the fourth quarter to play catch up. Down 60-34 with six minutes left, James Hedahl scored on a put-back, then sophomore reserve guard, Trey Alexander cut through the Cougar defense for a lay-in, cutting the gap to 11.
The Cougars’ first score of the fourth quarter were two free throws by Quinton Steen at the four-minute mark.
When Fyfe scored on drive with 1:48 left, the Cougars led 65-55. But the knock-out punch for the Cougars came late in the shot clock when Nash Espe hit a long 3-pointer with 1:20 left.
Junior forward Caleb Greenland scored 21 points on the night. His first bucket of the third quarter gave him 1000 points in his 3-year career. At the awards ceremony, he should be thanking Stacey for setting up about half of those!
Not known as a big scorer over the years, Stacey did finish with 17 points of his own, and dished out passes that led to at least that many more. Steen scored 11, as the Cougars had eight players in the scoring columns.
Jenkins scored 20 for the Trojans, with Hehdahl adding 11, and Fyfe with 10.
Well, that LONG winded “Danger Week” is now in the books. Those that needed it, got their cold slap-in-the-face. Those that made it through unscathed, got their fair warning.
Now, with two weeks to go in the regular season, it’s time for the final stretch.
Big games this week will have Bellingham hosting Squalicum on Tuesday, and Sehome on Thursday. Burlington will be at Mount Vernon for the “Battle of the Bridge” on Wednesday. Sedro-Woolley goes to Burlington on Friday for “Chicken Fest.” And the week culminates with the big one, Lynden Christian at Lynden on Saturday, in which, both teams could enter the game with 12-0 league records.
~ Ted House
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