The Meridian Trojans came back to defeat Ferndale 57-51 in a Northwest Conference game Friday, Jan. 11, at Meridian High School.

"It was back and forth and they took a lead with about 6 minutes to go," Meridian coach Shane Stacy said in a phone interview. "We were able to get a stop and Logan Carlson hit a big shot and on the next play Alijah Garcia hit a big three for us and Blake Briones hit another one right after and that helped us pull away."

Meridian (7-6, 2-3 NWC) was led by Spencer Blackburn, who scored 13 points and nine rebounds, and Alijah Garcia, who scored 11.

Ferndale (7-7, 4-2 NWC) was led by Aiden Sands, who scored 23 points.

"We didn't have an answer to Sands in the second half," Stacy said. "We threw everything at him but couldn't slow him down. He put them on his back and brought them back into it."

The Trojans host Anacortes on Monday, Jan. 14, while Ferndale hosts Lynden Christian on Tuesday, Jan. 15, both Northwest Conference games.

MERIDIAN 57, FERNDALE 51

Ferndale 13 7 10 19 - 51

Meridian 11 11 14 21 - 57

Ferndale: Austin Honeycutt 6, Luis Alvarez 2, Lukas Melton 7, Aiden Sands 23, Zachary Cutsforth 2, Brady Shearer 10, Kendall Kelly 1, Travis Hoffman 0, Zach Berkompas 0, Cameron Massey 0. Team totals: 22-48 3-4 51.

Meridian: Alijah Garcia 11, Jacob Plagerman 0, Edward Garcia 10, Patrick Carlson 3, Blake Briones 10, Chad Richter 2, Spencer Blackburn 13, Logan Carlson 8. Team totals: 18-51 16-26 57.

3-ptg: Ferndale 4 (Shearer 2), Meridian 5 (A. Garcia 3). Rebounds: Ferndale 22 (Massey 5), Meridian 30 (Blackburn 9). Assists: Ferndale 6 (Honeycutt 2), Meridian 8 (E. Garcia 5). Fouls: Ferndale 18 (none), Meridian 10 (none). Turnovers: Ferndale 12, Meridian 12.