It seemed to be “blow-out week” in the Northwest Conference, as in the 17 games involving NWC boy’s teams, only three were decided by less than ten points.
Recency bias takes us straight to the final day of the week, where two of the top four in the league, Anacortes and Lynden Christian, got together on a sunny, 17-degree day at LC. The Seahawks beat the temps, and the Lyncs, 78-66.
The first quarter began, like you would think. Both teams drained shots, each hitting three 3-pointers, and a 19-19 tie after eight minutes, and each team having spread the scoring around.
After a 3-point first quarter, the league’s leading scorer, Seahawk junior guard Davis Fogle, who entered the game with a 31-point scoring average, scored nine of his team’s eleven second quarter points, but the Lyncs still led 35-30 at halftime.
The Seahawks full-court defense put constant pressure on the LC guards to get the ball in to front court on every possession. The Seahawks were going to live and died by it, as on many occasions in the first half, a long sideline pass set up transition opportunities for the Lyncs. But it also paid off, as the Seahawks did benefit from some turnovers and missed shot opportunities by the Lyncs.
Late in the second quarter, the Lyncs went up 33-24, before the Seahawks scored six straight points to narrow the gap before halftime.
On the Lyncs final possession of the first half, they played for the last shot, but the ball was knocked loose in the final seconds, creating a wild scramble for the ball near mid court. The Lyncs finally recovered the fumble, and an alert pass found their 6-4 Kayden Stuit alone under the rim, where he hammered a 2-handed dunk, two seconds before the halftime buzzer.
The Seahawks continued to keep the back court pressure on the Lyncs, but the Lyncs still led by six points, late in the third quarter.
Fogle hit back-to-back 3-pointers to tie the score at 47-47 at the 2:30 mark. Then, he converted a 3-point play, giving the Seahawks the lead. Fogle scored 17 of the Seahawks 23 points in the third quarter, as Anacortes took a 53-49 lead.
If the Seahawks full court defense did anything, it took the LC offense out of its normal offensive looks. LC guards Dawson Bouma and Gannon Dykstra, even though they took advantage of the opportunities that they got, did not have the freedom to create their normal offense, even though they both scored well, mostly in transition. The Seahawks half-court zone defense did well to keep pressure on the Lyncs shooters when they were outside the arc.
The Seahawks did not relinquish the lead in the final eight minutes. The Lyncs could get no closer than two points with three minutes to play.
Fogle kept the pressure on the Lyncs as he scored 14 more points in the fourth quarter to total 43 for the game. He scored 31 in the second half.
Sophomore forward Micah Dickison put in 11 points for the Seahawks, who also got nine from junior guard Jake Andrew and eight from senior guard Cooper Barton. The Seahawks also hit 7-8 free throws in the final quarter.
Bouma led the Lyncs with 20 points, while Dykstra added 16. Senior forwards Jeremiah Wright and Stuit finished with 13 and 12 points, respectively.
The Seahawks are now 7-2 in the conference, and 11-3 on the season. The Lyncs, who had won 25 straight games going back to last season, drop to 7-1 in the conference and 13-1 on the season.
The Lyncs, Seahawks, and Mount Vernon Bulldogs have all played each other, and all three teams are 1-1 in those matchups. Lynden has not played any of those three yet but will get involved with them very soon. The league title is still very much up for grabs.
The Lions are 9-0 in the NWC and got wins over Mount Baker and Blaine last week.
Blaine took on Meridian on Tuesday in the Trojans gym and had a difficult time with the Trojans full court press, ending in a 72-48 victory by the Trojans. The Borderites trailed by 12 after one quarter, and by 16 at halftime.
Trojan junior guard Jaeger Fyfe fed off Borderite turnovers and scored all 27 of his points in the first three quarters.
Two days later, the Borderites found themselves at Jake Maberry Gym, facing the Lions, where a 79-27 loss may seem even worse. However, I didn’t see it that way.
Though outmanned, I thought the Borderites had a lot more fire and enthusiasm against the Lions. They played with passion and a purpose. Forget the score. If they can play with that effort and determination, they will make the degree of difficulty in getting through the 1A District Tournament much tougher for everyone.
The Lakewood Cougars got wins over Sedro-Woolley and Burlington-Edison last week and are now breathing down the necks of the Bellingham Bayhawks. As luck would have it, the two play at Bellingham on Monday.
The Bayhawks won at Oak Harbor and lost to Anacortes last week and are 6-3 in the NWC. Lakewood is 5-4.
Mount Vernon got a pair of wins over Sehome and Oak Harbor last week.
Against the Mariners, senior guard Quinn Swanson scored 26 points in the Bulldogs 73-44 win. Then Michael Johnson hit for 28 against the Wildcats as the Bulldogs won that one 85-60.
The Bulldogs are 8-1 in the NWC, and in second place in the 3A District RPI, behind Mountlake Terrace.
1A has no district RPI as all five teams will qualify for their district tournament. Lynden Christian has a hold on the top spot. On Tuesday, Meridian will be at Nooksack Valley. The Pioneers are 4-5 in the NWC, while the Trojans are 3-5.
On Monday, Mount Baker (1-8) travels to Blaine (1-8) in a game between teams battling for fourth and fifth place in 1A.
The 2A District RPI has Lynden in first place, Anacortes is third and Bellingham is fourth. Lakewood has the fifth position. The top four teams will host first round games in the 2A district tournament.
The second-place team in the 2A District RPI, is the Wesco’s Cedarcrest Red Wolves. They, along with Archbishop Murphy, are the two 2A representatives from the Wesco 3A league.
As luck would have that, the two played each other at Archbishop Murphy on Friday.
The Red Wolves (7-2/12-2) are tied for third in the Wesco, while ATM is 1-8 in the Wesco, and now 4-10 on the season.
Cedarcrest already has wins this season over Squalicum, Burlington, and Anacortes, and knowing they were a team to be reconned with, I wanted to get eyes on them.
The ATM gym was packed for the girls’ game, won easily by the Wildcats, but then some of the crowd emptied for the boys match up.
I will say this: Cedarcrest is good. That tight two-allocation squeeze that district 1 has for state entrants, just got tighter.
The Red Wolves have a great starting lineup. They have athletic wings who can score. They have a quick point-guard who can go either direction with the dribble, and they can shoot. Playing a first round game in Duval will be a serious challenge.
Senior Alex Amaral is a 6-4 wing, who lit the Wildcats up for 30 points on this night. Senior Jack LeBlanc is his counterpart on the other side, at 6-3. He had 26 points against the Wildcats. The rest of the starters are solid, with the quick senior point guard Adam Rawlings, and 6-6 forwards, senior Tillman Yowell, and junior Murphy Vliem.
The Red Wolves start four seniors in a district and state that seems to be sided to the underclassmen. Their two losses are both in the Wesco Conference, to Arlington by 16 and Mountlake Terrace by 11. They beat ATM on this night, 94-52.
This week, Lynden takes to the floor at the ShoWare Center in Kent on Monday, to take on the Kings Knights, in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day event.
There are also NWC matchups on Monday, as I pointed out, with Mount Baker at Blaine, and Lakewood at Bellingham as the headliners.
Also, this week, look forward to Meridian at Nooksack on Tuesday, and Mount Vernon at Lynden on Friday.
Sounds like the scores will be getting tighter, and the games more intense.
~ Ted House
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