The Bellingham boys' basketball team got big lift from its bench, as it pulled away late to beat visiting Meridian 69-59 in a non-conference game on Tuesday, Dec. 4.

"This game, our support team really had to step up, and they did," Bellingham coach Ken Crawford said in a phone interview. "They've got smiles on their faces right now, because they did respond. ... Our young guys like Dante (Check), Kailen (Hayes) and Cyrus (Davies) played excellent games coming off the bench, because we had some foul trouble."

Hayes had 11, Check finished with nine and Davies scored four, providing a nice complement to Nick Zeegers, who recorded a game-high 19 points. Their play allowed Bellingham to make a surge midway through the fourth quarter after a back-and-forth third, and the Red Raiders (2-2) put the game away with free-throw shooting down the stretch.

Tristan Hurley and Marques Reynolds also scored nine points each for Bellingham.

The Trojans (2-1) were led by Alijah Garcia's 18 points and 14 more from Edward Garcia. Chad Richter had eight.

The Red Raiders will host Nooksack Valley in a non-conference game on Friday, Dec. 7, while Meridian will host Delview from British Columbia on Thursday, Dec. 6.

BELLINGHAM 69, MERIDIAN 59

Meridian 8 21 15 15 - 59

Bellingham 20 5 16 28 - 69

Meridian: Spencer Blackburn 2, Blake Briones 3, Logan Carlson 3, Patrick Carlson 5, Alijah Garcia 18, Edward Garcia 14, Trevin Todd 6, Chad Richter 8, Kelby Todd 6, Trevin Todd 0. FT: 11-18

Bellingham: Alex Check 4, Dante Check 9, Cyrus Davies 4, Darice Haywood 0, Tristan Hurley 9, Aaron Burke 0, Kyle Redmond 4, Marques Reynolds 9, Kailen Hayes 11, Nick Zeegers 19. FT: 12-21

3-ptg: Meridian 8 (Alijah Garcia 4), Bellingham 3 (Zeegers 2). Fouls: Meridian 20 (Edward Garcia, Richter fouled out), Bellingham 22 (Redmond fouled out).