Boys Districts: Lynden Romps; Blaine, Squalicum Lose

The Lynden boys basketball team showed why its one of the top two seeds in the Class 2A District 1/2 tournament with a convincing 71-54 victory over Cedarcrest in the quarterfinals on Saturday, Feb. 15.

Unfortunately for Blaine, Burlington-Edison showed why it is the top seed, with an 81-51 quarterfinal victory over the Borderites.

The Lions move on to the semifinals against Mountlake Terrace on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Mount Vernon High School with the winner earning a spot in the regional round of the state tournament.

The Borderites will have to reach state through the consolation bracket starting with a loser-out contest against Liberty on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at Mount Vernon Christian.

In the 3A District 1 tournament, Squalicum lost to top-seed Marysville-Pilchuck, 63-46, to fall into the consolation bracket. The Storm will be on the road again, taking on fifth-seed Meadowdale in Edmonds on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in a loser-out game

2A: Lions Overpower Cedarcrest In Opener

Liam Hanenberg proved too big a challenge for Cedarcrest as the 6-foot-11 center led No.2-ranked Lynden (19-2) to a big victory over the Red Wolves (10-12).

Hanenberg had 30 points on 13 of 17 shooting from the field and 10 rebounds as the Lions won the battle of the boards, 32-19.

Senior forward Brock Heppner had another great all-around game with 13 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds. Junior guard Koby Whitman and sophomore guard Jordan Medcalf added 8 points each and junior forward Clay Kochuten had 7 points.

The Lions jumped on the Red Wolves early, building a 21-8 first-quarter lead and 37-15 lead at the break. 

Lynden 71, Cedarcrest 54
Cedarcrest                           8      7    18    21—54
Lynden                               21    16    16    18—71

Cedarcrest: Hogan Chase 8, Chester Brackebusch 4, Kian Pegueros-Warren 5, Nicolo Cammarano 11, Dawson Cairns, Shawn Deming 10, Brennan Mallot 3, Carter Knowles, Alex Perry 3, Tyler Hampton 2, Cameron Brady 4.

Lynden: Austin Anderson 3, Koby Whitman 8, Jordan Medcalf 8, Brock Heppner 13, Harley VandenBerg 2, Elijah Lyons, Jordan Elsner, Dawson Adams, Ian Jacob, Kaleo Jandoc, Clay Kochuten 7, Liam Hanenberg 30.

2A: Borderites Battle, Can’t Keep Up With Burlington

Blaine (12-10) was within three of No.1-ranked Burlington-Edison (20-1) with three minutes left in the third quarter, but the Tigers couldn’t be contained and pulled away for the victory.

“They turned it up a notch, and we couldn’t recover,” said Blaine coach Brett Farrar. “Our guys really battled and gave us everything they had against a very good opponent.”

Junior guards Josh Russ and Kyle Turnburg led the Borderites with 14 and 12 points, respectively. Sophomore wing Cole Thomas added 11 and senior guard Zane Rector had 8, all of which came in the third quarter when Blaine made its run.

But the Borderites had trouble stopping Burlington senior forward Jackson Reisner in the first half, when he had 18 of his game-high 24 points, and senior center Wyatt Walker in the second half, when he had 15 of his 17 points.

Burlington-Edison 81, Blaine 51
Blaine                                10    12    23      6—51
Burlington-Edison          19    17    28    17—81

Blaine: Kyle Turnberg 12, Josh Russ 14, Zane Rector 8, Cole Thomas 11, Scott Baldwin 4, Mason Vega 2, Josh Audette, Ben Arps.

Burlington-Edison: Jace Hurd, Erik Altenhofen 9, Hector Ruiz, Jackson Reisner 24, Zach Watson 2, Connor Anderson, DJ Clark 14, Logan Wright 2, Cody Hurd 3, Wyatt Walker 17, Tayler Hoply-Sheldon 2, Donovan 8.

CLASS 2A DISTRICT 1/2

Thursday, Feb. 13
Anacortes 66, Sedro-Woolley 55 (loser out)
Cedarcrest 65, Archbishop Murphy 56 (loser out)
Liberty 61, Sammamish 41 (loser out)
Blaine 65, Sehome 53 (loser out)

Saturday, Feb. 15
Lynden 71, Cedarcrest 54
Burlington-Edison 81, Blaine 51
Lakewood 81, Liberty 72
Mountlake Terrace 51, Anacortes 50

Tuesday, Feb. 18
Mountlake Terrace vs. Lynden at Mount Vernon HS, 6 p.m.
Lakewood vs. Burlington-Edison at Mount Vernon HS, 7:30
Cedarcrest vs. Anacortes at Mount Vernon Christian, 6 p.m. (loser out)
Liberty vs. Blaine at Mount Vernon Christian, 7:30 p.m. (loser out)

Thursday, Feb. 20
Consolation games at Mount Vernon HS, 6 and 7:30 p.m. (losers out)

Saturday, Feb. 22
Consolation final at Mount Vernon HS, 6 p.m. (winner third, to regionals; loser out)
Championship final at Mount Vernon HS, 7:45 p.m. (winner first, loser second; both to regionals)

3A: Storm Fall Too Far Behind, Fall To Top Seed

Eighth-seed Squalicum (11-11) did its best to match up with the size of Marysville Pilchuck (19-2), but in the end learned why the Tomahawks won the WesCo 3A and are the No.3 Class 3A team in the state’s RPI rankings.

Senior point guard Dedrick Mitchell led the Storm with 21 points, and senior guard Devante Powell added 8 points.
Junior forward Leland Zender and sophomore forward Djouvensky Schlenbaker battled inside and actually helped the Storm outscore Marysville-Pilchuck in the second half. But Squalicum couldn’t overcome a 36-18 halftime deficit.

 Marysville-Pilchuck 63, Squalicum 46
Squalicum                               8    10    12    16—46
Marysville-Pilchuck             15    21    10    17—63

Squalicum: Brandon Cash, Leland Zender 2, Elliott Aslan 2, Mason Binning 2, Clayton Bell 4, Reed Richardson, Dedrick Mitchell 21, Devante Powell 8, Aiden Aune, Djouvensky Schlenbaker 5, Lincoln Hofer, Kai Posey 2.

Marysville-Pilchuck: Jackson 8, Jefferson, Richey, Devereaux, Southward 5, Phelps, Dobler 9, Stordahl 19, Severn, Kalab 15, Battle 7.

CLASS 3A DISTRICT 1

Thursday, Feb. 13
Arlington 63, Ferndale 61 (loser out)
Squalicum 63, Shorewood 51 (loser out)

Saturday, Feb. 15
Shorecrest 65, Marysville-Getchell 61, 7 p.m.
Stanwood 63, Arlington 61
Edmonds-Woodway 69, Meadowdale 45
Marysville-Pilchuck 63, Squalicum 46

Wednesday, Feb. 19
Squalicum at Meadowdale (loser out), 7 p.m.
Arlington at Marysville-Getchell (loser out), 7 p.m.
Shorecrest vs. Stanwood  at Jackson HS, 6 p.m.
Edmonds-Woodway vs. Marysville-Pilchuck, 7:45 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 21
Consolation games at Jackson HS, 6 and 7:45 p.m. (losers out)

Saturday, Feb. 22
Consolation final at Everett CC, 4:15 p.m. (winner third, to regionals; loser out)
Championship final at Everett CC, 8 p.m. (winner first, loser second, both to regionals)
(Top three advance to state regionals)

Jim Carberry of Whatcom Hoops

Author
Jim Carberry is a former Bellingham Herald sports editor and author of several books on Whatcom County prep basketball. Follow him on Twitter @whatcomhoops and visit the Whatcom Hoops Facebook page.