A one-year hiatus from the state boys basketball tournament was plenty long enough for Sterling Somers and his Lynden teammates.
Thanks to the steady play of the team’s senior trio combined with some big plays in the fourth quarter from youngsters Christian Zamora and James Marsh, the Lions were able to exorcism some demons caused by last year’s uncharacteristic early postseason exit.
“Coach asked the seniors to say something before the game and I said I remember going home this night last year after our season-ending loss,” Somers said. “That’s not how we wanted to see last season end. That game has been a motivator for us ever since.”
Freshman Zamora scored a team-high 13 points, Somers chipped in 11 and Lynden kept its quest for another state championship alive with a 57-51 victory over Liberty of Issaquah in the Class 2A regional round.
“Some people in Lynden think it is your birth right to go to state, but we know it’s hard, especially with regional format with eight teams. For us now, we have won three straight loser-out games,” Lynden coach Brian Roper said. “We did that because we have some tough, competitive kids.”
Up next for the Lions (23-2) will be the state tournament March 3-5 at the Yakima Valley SunDome where the will look to capture the program’s ninth state championship.
Zamora was one of four Lynden players to score in double figures as the Lions also received 10 points from both senior Jordan Wittenberg and freshman Marsh.
The team’s third senior, Noah King, finished with six points, and drained a 3-pointer with less than two minutes remaining in the contest to push Lynden’s lead to 55-47.
“They were determined to take Sterling away. That was their game plan and they executed it well,” Roper said. “We have a basketball team with multiple guys who can shoot and score. I never thought we would be running plays for freshmen at the end of the fourth quarter of a regional game, but that seemed to be our best match-up. Those two guys delivered down the stretch. They are not freshmen anymore. We told them they are veterans.”
Zamora, who scored 10 points in the second half, hit back-to-back buckets late in the fourth quarter to give the Lions some breathing room as the Patriots attempted to make a push in the closing moments.
Marsh was equally effective on both ends of the court, providing tough interior defense and hitting a pair of big shots midway through the final frame.
“We’ve really grown as a team since the summer. We saw they could play right away as freshmen,” Somers said about Zamora and Marsh. “They’ve matured over the season and you saw that tonight. They’ve been awesome for us.”
Liberty (13-12) posted an early 11-5 lead before the Lions used an 18-2 run to take a slim 28-25 advantage into the intermission.
The Patriots tied the contest at 33 with less than four minutes left in the third quarter before Lynden closed out the third on a 9-2 run to take a 42-35 lead into the final 8 minutes.
The Lions won 11 straight games before suffering a 63-44 loss to Shorecrest in the semifinals of the district tournament. They responded to the rare setback by winning three consecutive loser-out games, starting with a 61-48 victory over Anacortes, which avenged the team’s only other defeat this season.
“We just rebounded the next day after that defeat at the district tournament and got refocused,” Somers said. “It was just one of those games. I’m happy we had it there than in a loser-bracket.”
Lynden saw its string of three consecutive trips to state come to a surprising end last year after losing in the regional round to Mark Morris, 65-62.
“It’s been in the back of our minds,” Somers said about last season’s playoff loss. “We really haven’t talked about it too much, but it’s there. It’s just served as motivation for us this entire year.”
The Lions’ boys squad will have plenty of company in Yakima as Lynden’s girls basketball team also punched its ticket to the state tournament with a convincing 67-39 victory over Liberty in the regional round.
Elisa Kooiman, who sank four 3-pointers, led all scorers with 21 points while fellow juniors Lauren Zwires and Jasmyne Neria scored 15 and 13 points, respectively, for Lynden (22-2).
The Lions finished sixth at last year’s state tournament, losing to White River (53-44) in the trophy round. It marked the fifth time over the past seven seasons the Lynden girls have left state with some hardware. The highlight over that run came in 2009 with a 48-41 win over Archbishop Murphy in the state title game.
