(Mid)-Week 9 Update

Sedro-Woolley’s 76-60 win over Sehome on Monday keeps the Cubs in the race for second place in the Northwest Conference, and solidifies their #6 RPI toward the 3A district tournament.

Tuesday’s 70-62 win by Meridian over Ferndale pushes the Trojans closer to the #2 seed heading into the 1A district tournament.  The Trojans NWC record is now 4-8, with Nooksack Valley and Blaine at 2-10.  The Trojans need one more win, or a loss by both the Pioneers and Borderites, to secure the #2 seed into the 1A district tournament, and a home game against the #3 seed.

The loss bruises the Golden Eagles, but they got good news from Wednesday’s final scores.  Lynden Christian beat Oak Harbor and Burlington beat Mount Vernon, so all three teams are now tied with 4-8 conference records.  Ferndale has Blaine, Mount Baker, and Lynden Christian left on the schedule.  The Bulldogs have Meridian, Blaine, and Mount Baker.  The Wildcats play Anacortes, Nooksack Valley, and Squalicum.

In their three team round robin, the Golden Eagles have wins over the Bulldogs and Wildcats.  Oak Harbor is 1-1 and Mount Vernon is 0-2.  Only one of the three will advance to the post-season.

In the 2A race, Lynden and Anacortes are tied for second place in the conference and the top spot among 2A teams.  Lynden plays Lynden Christian on Saturday, then the Seahawks and Lions will meet Tuesday at Lynden.

On Monday at Sedro-Woolley, the Cubs got 33 points from senior forward (and my league MVP) Ethan DeJong. 

I’ve seen the Cubs play several times over the past two seasons.  DeJong has a knack for buzzer-beating shots, and I saw two more on this night. 

DeJong hit a step-back 12-footer to end the first quarter, and cleverly maneuvered his shot to get off a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer.

It was the Mariners who got off to a better start, jumping out to an 11-6 lead in the opening minutes, and taking a 16-14 lead at the end of the quarter.  Junior guard Quincy Tanovan nailed a couple 3-point shots, and 6-2 senior center Cole Turrell worked the post and the offensive glass to six first-quarter points.

While DeJong scored consistently in every quarter, it was the Cubs starting guards, seniors Cliff Tadema and Jae Thompson, who provided the big sparks for the Cubs.

In the second quarter, Tadema hit three 3-point shots.  The first two came on back-to-back possessions early in the second quarter to put the Cubs ahead.  The third came late in the half to break a 29-29 tie.

Thompson hit two 3-pointers in the third quarter.  His second came on a shot in transition late in the quarter that gave the Cubs a ten-point lead.  He hit his third early in the fourth quarter to get the lead back to ten.  All six of those threes generated by Thompson and Tadema were big momentum shots for the Cubs.

Turrell and 6-3 senior forward Carter Duckworth, worked well inside against the Cubs.  Turrell had ten points by halftime, as was the reason the Cubs switched out of their 2-3 zone in the first quarter. 

Duckworth played the role of wing-man, scoring eight of his 13 points in the second half.  Turrell finished with 16, but was slowed by the defense of DeJong in the fourth quarter.  DeJong switched to Turrell after guarding Xavier Kelley for three quarters.  Turrell did get an inside bucket against DeJong, but also had three shots blocked.  Turrell and Duckworth combined for 11 of the Mariners 14 points in the fourth quarter. 

That bucket by Turrell with four minutes left cut the Cubs lead to 64-60.  Then it was Tadema’s turn, again.

With the score still the same a minute later, Tadema launched a 3-point shot from very-very deep on the right wing to push the lead to seven.  Then just 40 seconds later, he hit another one from the top of the key, providing the final nail. 

In all, the Cubs outscored the Mariners 12-0 over the final four minutes.

After DeJong’ 33, Tadema hit for 19, and 10 for Thompson.  Xavier Kelley led the Mariners with 17, but did not score in the fourth quarter. 

The Mariners loss to the Cubs leaves them at 8-4 in the conference, which is fifth among the 2A group.  They host rival Bellingham tonight.  The Bayhawks are coming off a 62-53 win over Squalicum on Tuesday.

There are five games between natural rivals this week, one every day from Tuesday to Saturday. 

Bellingham got things started with a 62-53 home win over Squalicum.  That raises the Bayhawks record to 3-9 while the Storm fell to 5-7.

Wednesday featured the “Battle of the Bridge” between Mount Vernon and Burlington-Edison.  The Tigers claimed ownership of The Bridge with a 68-60 win. 

Burlington’s win over Mount Vernon moves them into a tie with Sedro-Woolley and Lakewood for fourth place in the NWC with 9-3 records. 

Against the Bulldogs, the Tigers opened up a ten-point lead late in the first quarter.  The Bulldogs rallied in the second quarter, cutting the Tigers lead to just a point by halftime, 29-28. 

The Tigers nearly matched their entire first half offensive output in the third quarter, as seniors Logan Heigert and Madden Whitlock combined to score 17 of the Tigers 27 points in the quarter.  The Tigers distanced themselves from the Bulldogs with a 10-0 run and led by a dozen going into the fourth quarter.

Heigert finished with 25 points, which was 20 below his school record setting performance against Ferndale on Saturday.  Whitlock finished with 15 points.  Senior Evan Vinal led a balanced Bulldogs scoresheet with 12 points.  Junior Connor Swanson added 11, and senior post, Taran Hanjrah had 10. 

The Tigers head to Sedro-Woolley on Friday, where the Cubs have won eight straight games.

On Thursday, the BellingHome game will be between the Bayhawks and the Mariners.  On Friday, it’s the annual “Chickenfest” battle between Burlington-Edison and Sedro-Woolley. 

Saturday at 2:30pm, the final rivalry game of the week will feature Lynden (10-2) at Lynden Christian (12-0). 

Over the past 12 years, Lynden has won seven to Lynden Christian’s five.  The Lions have won two straight over the Lyncs, and three of the last four. 

The statistical differences between the two teams is minute this year.  LC outscores the Lions 73-67 in NWC games.  The Lyncs identity is at the offensive end, but their defense is also stingy, giving up 54.8 on the season, while the Lions are at 51.5 through 18 games.  Both teams give up 49.3 points per game in NWC contests.

After some early season injuries, the Lions have improved on the defensive end, lowering their points-per-game average significantly in the past two weeks.  The Lyncs averaged 80 points per conference game last year, but scored only 56 points against the Lions.

The Lyncs get this game at home, which is a huge advantage, even though the Lions won there in 2024. 

I think the Lyncs have had a more consistent season in their play.  Obviously, when you have won 17 of 18 games, that’s obvious.  The Lions just want to be playing their best heading into February, and they are on track for that to happen. 

Here is what to watch for: 

1:  The first few minutes. 

Lynden Christian’s offense is explosive.  They score in bunches.  If they get the crowd involved in an early run, that could be detrimental to the Lions chances.  An even start through the first four to eight minutes, buckle up for a great one.

2:  Rivalry games create stars.

In games like this, or championship-type games, someone under the radar, who you may not be thinking of, rises to the occasion. 

Teams will put defensive emphasis on top scorers and try to take certain things away.  This creates gaps for that third or fourth leading scorer to double his average and key a victory.  Keep an eye on those players, or maybe someone off the bench to be a big contributor. 

A few blocks to the east, at 715pm Saturday night, the girls matchup will be at Lynden High School. 

The Lion girls won their 65^th straight game on Monday and now take on the Lyncs.  Lynden Christian’s win over Oak Harbor on Wednesday moves them to 11-0 in the NWC.  The Lions are 10-0.  The Lions have won the last two games in the series, but the Lyncs won four straight before that. 

The Lyncs have dominated their NWC schedule to the tune of a 33-point score differential.   As huge as that number is, the Lions have a 51-point differential. 

The Lyncs losses on their 17-2 season are to Napavine, the #2 state RPI for the 2B classification.  And to Lake Stevens, a top 10 team in the 4A classification.

That’s your Mid-Week 9 update, in a nutshell.  I will be at BellingHome tonight, Chickenfest on Friday, and all over Lynden on Saturday.  Will recap it all, right here, on Sunday.

~ Ted House