LYNDEN — The Lyncs are back-to-back district champions.
No. 1-seeded Lynden Christian defeated No. 2 Blaine 65-40 at Lynden High School Saturday night, outscoring the Borderites 32-18 in the second half and capturing the 1A District 1 title for the second-straight year.
The game was a rematch of last year’s district title bout, and the Lyncs kept the trophy in Lynden. LC, however, is far from satisfied as the reigning 1A state champions.
“One of our goals is, obviously, to keep playing well and get better for the playoffs,” LC coach Tim Zylstra said. “So this is one step in that direction. We’ve still got a long way to go in terms of what our end goal is.”
Heading into the contest, Zylstra had a straightforward message for his team: shut down your man.
“We’ve just got to come out and stop the guy across from us,” Zylstra said. “That tends to work the best.”
LC was led by 20 points from junior forward Jeremiah Wright and 15 from senior guard Griffin Dykstra.
Blaine got 13 points from senior forward Mathew Russ and 11 from senior guard Lucas Smith.
The Borderites came out of the gates hot, leading by as much as six in the first quarter before LC cut it to three after eight minutes.
“[We] forced turnovers right away. We actually rebounded the ball very well in that first quarter, which was great,” Blaine coach Nate Sullivan said. “Sometimes you’ve got to hit shots to get into rhythm, and it was a tough night offensively, that’s for sure.”
LC mounted a 12-2 run spanning half of the second quarter, opening up a 33-22 edge at halftime.
“Everyone was clicking tonight after the first quarter,” Wright said. “It’s just a good win.”
The Borderites’ offense showed flashes of what it can be — particularly when Russ was on the attack — but their defense was too porous to consistently stop a potent Lyncs offense.
That imposing LC offense, led by Wright’s aggressiveness near the rim, outscored Blaine 17-10 in the third quarter and possessed an 18-point advantage.
The Lyncs opened up a 25-point lead with five minutes remaining, the largest margin of the game.
Despite the large difference on the scoreboard, Wright gave credit to Blaine’s opening-quarter gameplan.
“They’re a really physical team,” Wright said of Blaine. “They made a lot of adjustments [from the last meeting] — good adjustments.”
Senior guard Tyler Sipma and junior guard Dawson Bouma each added nine points for the Lyncs as senior forward Lane Dykstra finished with seven.
Blaine senior guards Carson Lehnert and Lawrence Creasey-Pulphus tallied seven and five points, respectively, while junior forward Noah Tavis added four.
The Lyncs advanced to 21-2 overall on the season and will head to the 1A bi-district crossover on Saturday, Feb. 18. LC’s District 2 opponent is not yet determined, but a win there would send them to regionals.
Blaine dropped to 14-7 overall and will face No. 4 Nooksack Valley in the 1A District 1 consolation final at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 14, at Lynden High School for one more chance to move on.
“I’m definitely trying to keep their emotions in check going into it,” Sullivan said. “Just telling them our journey continues. Our journey’s not over.”
