This is a review of “Rivalry Week,” where Bellingham hosted Squalicum and Sehome, plus an epic “Battle of the Bridge” game between Burlington-Edison and Mount Vernon. If that wasn’t enough, Friday night in Burlington, was the annual event of “Chickenfest” as Burlington-Edison hosted Sedro-Woolley.
Inter City I: Squalicum 65, Bellingham 56
Rivalry week started on Tuesday, where Bellingham hosted one rival, Squalicum. Both teams were light on rosters for the night, as the Bayhawks were without senior forward, Kincade Vanhouten on senior night, suiting only nine players. The Storm were also shorthanded, suiting only eight, but those were enough to get past the Bayhawks, 65-56.
It wasn’t a full gym, but it was a good and lively crowd, and it was good to see even visiting students come out in big numbers.
The Bayhawks stuck with tradition and started their five active seniors. The Storm ran out to a quick 12-4 lead, and 17-10 at the end of the first quarter. Jaxon Hofer and Hunter Calloway hit early 3-pointers for the visitors.
The Storm led by ten points at halftime and by eleven in the third quarter, before the Bayhawks made a run.
Trailing 43-37 starting the final quarter, junior forward Joe Harward scored inside, followed by a 3-pointer by senior Harmon Wienkers, and the Bayhawks trailed by only one, eventually tying the score at 45-45 with 6:10 left.
Harward scored 19 of the Bayhawks 33 second half points, and it was a good thing he did because Storm senior Marcus Nixon was finding different ways to score against the Bayhawks defense. Plus, the fact that the Storm hit six 3-pointers in the second half.
Storm sophomore guard, Blake Elston, gave his team the lead for good, 51-50, on a 3-pointer with 4:00 left. Elston was also responsible for the “Don’t blink or you’ll miss it, shot of the year,” three minutes later.
With the Storm leading 59-54, Elston received a pass just to the left of the top of the key. He drove into the Bayhawk zone defense, and at the foul line, attempted to toss a pass toward Ezra Nichols, who was open under the hoop.
As the ball left Elston’s hands, Wienkers right hand tipped the ball high into the air. I mean, way high into the air. And when it fell, it hit nothing but net, in maybe, the most centered shot of the night! Two-points for Elston, the hard way.
That was the capper, and a seven-point lead for the Storm.
Nixon’s 19 points led the Storm, with Elston and Hofer netting ten points each.
For the Bayhawks, Harward scored 31, and senior Calvin VanHofwegen and Wienkers both scored nine points.
The Bayhawks get to take a breath, but just for a day, then Sehome makes their way to the Bellingham gym for another rivalry game on Thursday, the BellingHome Battle.
THE BATTLE OF THE BRIDGE
Mount Vernon 73, Burlington-Edison 64 (Overtime)
How many times have I said in some form, that in “big” games, it may not be the stars that win it? Don’t go looking, that’s a rhetorical question. But it’s A LOT! That player ends up being someone else, like a role player, or maybe someone not in the varsity plans at the start of the season. Stay tuned.
Wednesday night, at Mount Vernon High School, in a place I like to call, “The Palace,” the Bulldogs hosted Burlington-Edison in the annual, “Battle of the Bridge.” Last year, on their way to the NWC title, the Bulldogs hammered the Tigers 89-46. This one, a 73-64 win in overtime by the Bulldogs, was probably even more painful for the Tigers.
Entering the game, they were two teams living in the middle of the NWC standings. Both secure in moving on to their respective district tournaments, so there wasn’t that much on the line, other than the thrill of winning a game over your closest rival. That alone was enough to fill The Palace on both sides. In fact, it was announced that the Mount Vernon students set a new attendance record.
Before the opening tip, the Bulldogs were sent to the free throw line to shoot a 2-shot technical foul that was accessed to the Tigers for getting too much rim in pre-game warmups. I think this only happens in rivalries. Sophomore Evan Vinal, starting because of the absence of senior guard, Baron Dorsey, missed both free throws, but he hadn’t begun to make his mark on this game.
Burlington junior guard Madden Whitlock got the Tigers going early, scoring nine of the Tigers’ first ten points on their way to a 16-12 lead at the end of the quarter. Whitlock’s scoring was huge for the Tigers, as the Bulldog defense collapsed on the 6-8 Timophy Feskov and the 6-6 Logan Heigert, neither of which scored a field goal in the first quarter.
After a lay-in by Bulldog senior guard Michael Johnson, Whitlock tossed a long pass over the Bulldog press to Feskov, who turned and finished with two-hand dunk, giving the Tigers a 20-15 lead. However, Feskov was given a technical foul for taunting, resulting in his second personal foul, and two free throws by Bulldog junior guard, Kaden Sokol.
With the Bulldogs still in possession, Johnson scored on a lay-in off a backdoor cut and a perfect bounce pass from Sokol, and the Tigers lead was down to one. Sokol then scored on a fast break lay-in, then nailed a 3-pointer to finish an 11-0 run by the Bulldogs, and a 24-20 lead.
Johnson went to the bench a short time later with his third foul. But with the Bulldogs leading 24-22, the sophomore Vinal, scored and was fouled. He missed the free throw, but the Bulldogs rebounded and Vinal hit a 3-pointer from the right corner to give the Bulldogs a 29-22 lead.
The Tigers found their footing and reeled off the last eight points of the second quarter and grabbed a 30-29 lead at halftime.
The Tigers then scored the first five points of the third quarter, but soon foul trouble became a factor. In the middle of the quarter, Heigers and Feskov each picked up their third fouls. They, along with Johnson, all began to be strategically substituted. Feskov committed his fourth foul in the last minute of the quarter.
With the game tied at 44-44 starting the fourth quarter, Whitlock started the scoring for the Tigers on a fast break lay-in, in which he was being chased by three Bulldogs. He came to a jump-stop, added a pump-fake sending all three Bulldog defenders flying through the air past him, allowing Whitlock an uncontested score.
After a drive by Johnson tied the game, Feskov scored on another dunk, before Vinal hit his first of two 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. The first gave the Bulldogs a 51-48 lead with 5:15 left.
Heigert fouled out with 3:54 left with the Tigers trailing by one. But Whitlock got the lead back for the Tigers with a lay-in on a step-around move. After senior forward Spencer Betz added two free throws, Whitlock scored again on a fast break lay-in, and the Tigers led 58-53 with two minutes left.
A score off an offensive rebound by Feskov gave the Tigers a 60-56 lead, and a miss by the Bulldogs gave the Tigers the upper hand, leading by four in the final minute.
The Tigers called a timeout late in the shot clock and eventually missed a long 3-point attempt. In transition, Johnson swished a 15-footer, cutting the lead to two. Then Vinal came up with a game-saving steal on the press and fed Johnson, who scored following his own miss to tie the game at 60-60 with 23 seconds left.
The Tigers could not hit their last shot, sending the game to overtime.
That’s when Vinal became the latest folk hero. After two Tiger free throws, Vinal hit a 3-pointer to give the Bulldogs a 63-62 lead. He followed that with two free throws, then another dagger-three with 50 seconds left, giving the Bulldogs a 69-64 lead.
As he was back on the free throw line a few seconds later, the Bulldog student section began chanting, “M-V-P, M-V-P, M-V-P.” The sophomore netted both shots, and in an amazing stretch, he scored ten points in the overtime period, all of which came in the final 2:30. Add to that, his two 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, plus five points in the first half, and Evan Vinal, who was in only his second varsity game of meaningful minutes, became THAT guy! A 21-point night against a rival. That guy who you didn’t expect becomes a hero in a big game.
Madden Whitlock was almost that guy for the Tigers. He scored six points in the fourth quarter, totaling 15 for the game. Heigert finished with 16, and Feskov led the Tigers with 19 before he fouled out in overtime. Betz added ten points for the Tigers.
Johnson led the Bulldogs with 22 points, most of which on crafty and determined drives to the hoop. Senior forward Moises Lucatero also made key plays late for the Bulldogs, scoring five of his 11 points in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Special notoriety has to go to the fans of both teams. When The Palace is packed, it sets itself apart. Well, it kind of does that, anyway. I know the players appreciate playing in front of crowds like that, and I appreciate the kind of atmosphere that rivalries generate.
THE BELLINGHOME BATTLE
Sehome 54, Bellingham 51
An overflow parking lot at Bellingham High School equated to a near capacity crowd (you can always squeeze in one or two more people) Thursday night, as the visiting Sehome Mariners used quick start and a strong finish to get past their long-time rival, Bellingham, 54-51.
The Mariners took 7-0 and 10-2 leads in the first five minutes until the Bayhawks soon tied the score at 10-10. Sehome led 13-12 at the quarter break.
The second quarter was much different, as four Bayhawks hit 3-point shots in a 17-6 run to halftime. Junior forward Joe Harward hit two from behind the arc in the first half, and scored 15 points. The Bayhawks led 29-19 at halftime.
The third quarter was choppy, as the teams spent a lot of time at the free throw line, but combined to shoot just 9-20 at the stripe in the third quarter. The Bayhawks couldn’t shake the Mariners, but the Mariners could not get closer than five points in the quarter, and trailed by six points, 38-32, heading to the final period.
Mariner junior post Cole Turrell scored inside to start the fourth quarter, then junior point guard Nolan Wright hit one of his patented jumpers from the elbow. That was followed by another score by Turrell who squeezed along the baseline for a bucket, which tied the score at 38-38.
Wright broke a 40-40 tie on a driving lay-in in which the ball did a complete 360 around the iron, and when it fell, the Mariners had the lead for good. But it didn’t stop there.
Sophomore guard Quincy Tanovan nailed a 3-pointer for a five-point lead, then Wright came through again for the Mariners with a 3-point play which completed a 16-2 run for a 48-40 lead with 2:21 left.
After a Bellingham timeout, senior guard Harmon Wienkers hit back-to-back 3-pointers for the Bayhawks to cut the score to 48-46 with 1:25 to play.
The Mariners built the lead to seven before senior guard Gabriel Van Hofwegen hit a 3-pointer to bring the Bayhawks to within four points, 53-49 with 10 ticks left. Wienkers hit a put-back at the buzzer for the final score.
For Bellingham, Harward’s touches in the second half were more limited, as he scored only six points after halftime to finish with 21. Wienkers scored eight of his 13 points in the fourth quarter.
Wright led the Mariners with 19 on the night, with nine of those in the fourth quarter. Turrell scored ten of his 15 points in the second half, and Tanovan scored all of his ten points after halftime.
The win is a confidence builder for the Mariners, who sit in eighth place in the current district RPI standings, with Squalicum and Burlington-Edison on the schedule in the final week of the regular season.
The Bayhawks, who have lost six of their last seven games, are fifth in the district RPI standings, with games against fourth-place Burlington-Edison, and Meridian next week.
CHICKENFEST
Burlington-Edison 66, Sedro-Woolley 62
Like, "FLY'N CHICKENS IN THE BARN YARD, “Chickenfest,” the yearly battle between Sedro-Woolley and Burlington-Edison, is much more than competitors firing a rubber chicken at a basketball hoop from mid court with a long slingshot. There’s a great basketball game involved, as well.
The 10-4 Cubs traveled to play the 11-6 Tigers in front of a capacity-plus crowd in the B-E gym. The Cubs were winners of six straight games, while the Tigers had won three of five, but were coming off that overtime loss at Mount Vernon.
The Tigers used a huge second half in a come-from-behind, 66-62 win over the Cubs, on Friday night.
The Cubs have 6-4 junior forward Ethan DeJong, who is the league’s leading scorer at 28.7 points per game. Meanwhile, the Tigers leader is 6-6 senior forward, Logan Heigert, who comes in at a whisker under 20 points per game. Not only was there a fierce battle between the Cubs and Tigers, but the battle between DeJong and Heigert was also epic.
The Cubs do not lack in size, overall, but containing Heigert and keeping the Tigers 6-8 Timophy Feskov away from the rim at the same time, would be a monumental task.
But the Cubs proved worthy, as they used two 6-0 runs in the first quarter to take a 17-13 lead at the first break. Another bonus for the Cubs was the second foul on Feskov, which sent him to the bench for most of the second quarter.
Without the shot-altering Feskov in the middle of the Tigers zone, DeJong was able to get to the rim multiple times in the second quarter, scoring ten of his 17 first-half points. Heigert was able to match DeJohn, as he also scored ten points in the second quarter and totaled 15 for the half.
The Cubs built a 21-13 lead when Feskov went to the bench, but Tiger senior Spencer Betz hit a floating jumper in the key to tie the game at 27-27. But the Cubs finished the half with a 9-2 run, and comfy 36-29 lead at halftime.
While Heigert scored only a free throw, the Cubs increased their lead to 52-37 in the middle of the quarter.
Feskov’s presence changed the game late in the third quarter, as he altered several shots at one end, and scored eight points at the other, including a pair of two-handed dunks. But the Cubs still led by eleven points entering the final frame.
With the Cubs leading 56-47, Heigert hit a 3-pointer with 5:10 left, then completed a 3-point play to cut the Cubs lead to just three points.
Then in a flurry, Betz hit a 3-point shot to tie the score, and seconds later, Heigert got a steal on the full court press, and his rim-rattling dunk put the Tigers ahead 58-56 with three minutes to play.
Junior guard Madden Whitlock scored on a runner in the key to complete a 17-2 run for the Tigers, and a four-point lead with 2:10 to go.
DeJong finally got the Cubs on the board again with a high arching eight-footer over Feskov to cut the lead to two points with a minute to play but that was as close as the Cubs would get.
DeJong and Heigert matched each other, with each scoring 29 points on the night. The Cubs got 12 points from junior guard Cliff Tadema, and ten from junior Isaac Johnson. Feskov and Whitlock each scored 14 points for the Tigers.
With the win, the Tigers leap-frogged over Bellingham in the district RPI standing into fourth place with two games remaining. One will be against each other.
I don’t know if the schedule makers put the schedule in place to have all these rivalries in succession this week, but I, for one, didn’t mind it at all. They were great games to watch, with one more to go on Saturday night. Stay tuned on Sunday for the recap of Lynden Christian at Lynden.
~ Ted House
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