Class 1A boys semifinals: Lynden Christian, King's eke out victories, set 2020 title-game rematch
YAKIMA – Stay the course.
To a man, that’s what the second-seeded Lynden Christian boys basketball team invoked following Friday night’s Class 1A semifinal against Life Christian in the Yakima Valley SunDome.
Stay the course.
Well, the Lyncs stayed the course, and it led them to familiar territory – a Saturday night state championship game in early March.
Lynden Christian battled past No. 3 Life Christian, 53-49. for the right to meet top-seeded and defending champion King’s, which had to rally past upstart No. 5 Toppenish in the earlier semifinal.
The Knights got the best of the Lyncs in 2020, cutting down the SunDome nets after a 70-67 overtime victory.
"I don’t want to lose to them twice in a row," said Lyncs senior Andrew Hommes, who finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds. "This is what we dreamed of our entire lives playing together. That gold ball is what we play for."
Lynden Christian last won state in 2018 and has six championships to its credit.
The Eagles led the majority of Friday’s game, leading by as much as eight in the first quarter and by five early in the fourth quarter.
"The first half I didn’t feel that we played well and (the deficit) was one point," Lynden Christian coach Tim Zylstra said. "We talked about it – we’re in this thing. We played not very well and now we had to stay the course."
The Lyncs (21-1) fed off their defense late, scoring nine points off turnovers in the fourth quarter when they used a 14-6 run to take control.
Tyler Sipma totaled 14 points, five rebounds and five assists, and Crew Bosman added 10 points.
Bradley Swillie again led the Life Christian (21-2), which suffered its first loss in more than three months. The senior had 16 points and six rebounds despite being sidelined with foul trouble much of the second half before eventually fouling out.
Eagles big man Chae Haynes added 13 points and seven rebounds before also fouling out in the final minutes.
Life Christian was eying a second consecutive berth in a title game after a Class 2B runner-up finish in 2020. The Eagles will play Toppenish at 11:15 a.m. Saturday for third and fifth place.
No. 1 King’s 63, No. 5 Toppenish 56: Outsized in basketball tradition and across Friday night’s lineups, fifth-seed Toppenish gave No. 1 King’s all it could handle in the first semifinal.
The Wildcats led 51-47 with 4:00 left in the game before the defending champions closed on a 16-5 run to advance to the program’s 10th championship game. The Knights are going for their sixth championship, all since 2001.
"We knew to beat them it would take everything we had for the whole game we told our kids these guys will not go away, they will fight us until the end," said King’s coach Rick Skeen, sporting a coif he jokes is meant as a distraction to opponents but screams lost bet. "I thought our toughness showed up and that’s what I’m so proud of. I believe the toughest team usually wins, and we had some chances to quit."
Idaho State signee Jordan Hansen, wearing a brace on his right ankle and moving with a noticeable limp, matched Cam Hiatt with a team-high 18 points and added a game-high 13 rebounds despite being limited. Carson Clowers added 11 points for King’s (24-2).
Toppenish junior Josh Perez topped all scorers with 22 points, sinking 4 of 8 3-pointers. Adams Myers had eight of his 11 points early in the third quarter when the Wildcats turned a two-point halftime deficit into a five-point lead.
