As we ease into the meat and potatoes part of our district tournaments, here’s a look at what happened on Wednesday night.
Meridian 67, Nooksack Valley 62
Junior guard Talon Jenkins poured in 24 points as the Meridian Trojans got past the Nooksack Valley Pioneers, 67-62, in a 1A boys district semifinal game, Wednesday night at Kay LeMaster Gym.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, in order to win big games, you need role players to come through, and that’s exactly what the Trojans got.
In a 12-point win by the Pioneers over the Trojans last month, a combination of the Pioneers defense and Jenkins in serious foul trouble, limited Jenkins to just four points in very few minutes played.
On this night, the Pioneers defense was still tight on Jenkins and counterpart, junior guard Jaeger Fyfe, but another source came up big for the Trojans offense.
Senior guard Jacob Amundson played the role of Best Supporting Actor, as he hit four 3-pointers, each one just as timely for the Trojans, as it was devastating for the Pioneers.
In a situation like that, hitting your first shot is critical, and Amundson swished the first shot of the game.
The Trojans were quick out of the gate, offensively, leading 23-13 with 1:30 left in the first quarter. The Pioneers narrowed the gap before the buzzer on a bucket and a free throw by sophomore Cole Coppinger, and a 3-pointer by senior Wayne Silves.
But, to start the second quarter, there was Amundson again, hitting the first shot, another 3-pointer. He added a third in the middle of the period, helping the Trojans to a 32-23 lead.
The Pioneers made another run, cutting the Trojans lead to 37-34 at halftime.
Early in the third quarter, the Pioneers took a brief lead on a bucket by junior guard Caden Heutink, but there was Admundson with the answer, again. His fourth 3-pointer of the game gave the lead back to the Trojans.
The Trojans pushed the lead to nine early in the fourth quarter. The Pioneers could get no closer than four points the rest of the way.
The Trojans had four starters in double-figures, led by Jenkins’ 24. Fyfe and Admundson scored 12 points each, and senior guard Taran Burks added ten.
Junior post Brady Ackerman led the Pioneers with 12 points, with Coppinger getting 11, off the bench.
The win sends the Trojans (12-10) to the District 1 title game against Lynden Christian (20-2), who was a 78-35 winner over Mount Baker (4-18). That game will be at Lynden High School, at 330pm, Saturday.
The Pioneers will play Mount Baker, at noon, Saturday at Lynden, in a loser out game.
Lynden 81, Burlington-Edison 65
The Lions got an 81-65 win in the 2A District Tournament quarterfinals over the #8 Tigers, behind the 33 points of senior Anthony Canales.
After the Lions took a double-digit lead in the first eight minutes, the Tigers closed the gap to 32-29 on a 3-pointer by sophomore Logan Heigert, with 2:10 left in the second quarter.
But over the last two minutes of the half, Canales scored seven straight points for the Lions, who settled for a 37-31 lead at the half.
Canales continued the run early in the third quarter, scoring six more points as well as assisting on a 3-point play by senior forward Ty Holleman. The Lions 9-0 run pushed the lead to 46-31. The Lions led by as much as 22 points in the fourth quarter.
Heigert led four Tigers underclassmen in double-figures with 16 points. Junior guard Spencer Betz had 13, while junior forward Timophey Feskov added 12, and sophomore Madden Whitlock with 10.
The Lions got 15 points from junior forward Brant Heppner, and 14 from Holleman.
The Tigers (12-12) will take on #5 Bellingham, at Sehome High School, at 5:15pm in a loser out game on Friday.
The Lions (18-4) move on to the district semifinals against Lakewood, Friday at 630pm, at Mount Vernon High School.
Lakewood 71, Bellingham 49
After beating the Bayhawks twice in the regular season by 16 and 10 points, the #4 Cougars advanced to the district semifinals with a big 71-49 win over the #5 Bayhawks, in the 2A district tournament.
The Cougars (13-8) raced out to a 20-7 lead on their home floor, and cruised behind the 22 points from sophomore Caleb Greenland. Seniors Zach Stoddard and Ben Rucker added 18 and 12 points, respectively.
The Bayhawks (11-10) were led by the 17 points of junior forward Kincade Vanhouten.
Anacortes 56, Sehome 40
The #3 Seahawks advanced to the 2A district semis with a 56-40 win over the Mariners.
The Mariners were within five points of the Seahawks early in the third quarter, 36-31, but could muster only nine more points the rest of the way.
The Seahawks (17-4) will play #2 Cedarcrest (18-3), Friday at 445pm in the first semifinal game at Mount Vernon High School. Cedarcrest defeated Archbishop Murphy, 67-36, in a quarterfinal game at Cedarcrest on Wednesday. The Seahawks lost at Cedarcrest, 65-59, in December.
The Mariners (10-11) will play Archbishop Murphy (7-15), in a loser out game at Sehome, Friday, at 7pm, following the Burlington-Bellingham contest.
Marysville-Getchell 76, Ferndale 58
The Golden Eagles season started and ended with losses to the Chargers. Ferndale’s first game of the season was a 17-point loss on the Chargers floor, this one was by 18 points, in the first round of the 3A District Tournament.
Sophomore guard Mantaj Singh led the Golden Eagles (7-14) with 18 points. The Golden Eagles were much improved from their 1-19 record in 2023.
Everett 72, Stanwood 60
The Seagulls (13-9) advanced to play Mount Vernon, Friday at 8pm, in the third game of the evening at MVHS.
The Bulldogs (18-2) beat Everett 61-51, in their second game of the season.
~ Ted House
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