YAKIMA - The Lynden Christian and Cedar Park Christian boys' basketball teams exchanged blows for four quarters. Back-and-forth they went. The prize was a third-place state trophy, but with a chance to win on its final possession, LC couldn't make the big play with its big-play guy.

Trailing by one with 7.9 seconds on the clock, Lynden Christian got Isaac Reimer isolated one-on-one at the top of the key, but Cedar Park Christian's Evan Scholten stripped the ball out of Reimer's hands to send the Lyncs out with a stinging loss.

"We thought you might as well have your state 1A player of the year try to get it done for you," Lynden Christian coach Roger De Boer said. "We thought about using him as a decoy, but in the grand scheme of things, we might as well go to the big dog. We did, and their kid did a great job on him defensively to make a great play."

Scholten missed the back end of a 1-and-1, but the 0.7 seconds left on the clock wasn't enough time for the Lyncs to get another crack at a game-winner, as LC settled for fifth place with a 52-50 loss Saturday, March 2, at the Yakima Valley SunDome.

Lynden Christian's two leading scorers, Reimer and Dustin Brandsma, got in foul trouble early and combined for only 10 points on 3 for 9 shooting. Truman Van Dalen picked up the slack, scoring a team-high 16 points, and Levi Vander Yacht added nine points by going 3 for 3 from the 3-point line.

"It was so neat to see. I was just so excited for Levi," De Boer said. "We see it continually in practice, but sometimes it doesn't come out in the games, his scoring ability, so it was cool to see him play at the level he did. Truman too, they played loose. They played free, and we kind of wanted to have a go-for-it attitude today, and I think those guys really took it to heart."

Despite Reimer's and Brandsma's off night, Lynden Christian stayed with Cedar Park Christian throughout the game. The contest featured 11 lead changes. Lynden Christian held the biggest lead, taking a 33-26 advantage thanks to a Van Dalen triple with 6:55 left in the third quarter.

Van Dalen, one of six LC seniors to play their final game, scored 12 of his 16 points in the second and third quarter. Without the production from LC's bigs, Van Dalen took some of the onus upon himself to carry the Lyncs on the offensive end.

"I was just looking to attack the hoop," Van Dalen said, "and if the 3 was open, take it. I just played loose this game and left it all on the court."

De Boer said Lynden Christian made the commitment Friday night to play all 12 of its players. LC did just that. It was a move that helped the Lyncs battle fatigue they felt from playing three games in three days as well as the natural wear and tear that occurs during a long season.

LC's reserves perhaps got more minutes than expected, though, given the foul trouble the Lyncs got into. More so than Reimer's and Brandsma's offensive production, De Boer said his club missed their defensive presence.

Scholten and the Eagles eventually took advantage. Not only did Scholten make the game-winning defensive play, he sparked Cedar Park Christian's third-quarter comeback. The Eagles' top scorer converted a 3-pointer to cut LC's lead to 33-29, and by the end of the quarter, Cedar Park Christian had trimmed Lynden Christian's lead to 41-40.

Back-to-back pairs of free throws by the Eagles' Trey Drechsel and Scholten put Cedar Park Christian in front 49-45 with 5:07 to play. After two buckets by Drechsel put CPC in front 51-48 with 1:21 to go, LC's Nathan Meppelink made two free throws to reduce the deficit to 51-50 with 1:14 left. But the Lyncs couldn't find a way to score in the final minute.

Scholten finished with a game-high 21 points, and Drechsel added 12. Cedar Park Christian's defense forced 21 Lynden Christian turnovers, while the Eagles committed only seven.

"I think they wanted it a little more," Van Dalen said. "Scholten was really hitting his shots today. I felt like he never missed, and they got into us defensively a little bit. There were times we had some dumb turnovers here and there, but it was a fun game to play."

The season concluded the careers of Willy Scholten, Brandsma, Reimer, Van Dalen, Vander Yacht and Meppelink. It's a group that started as freshmen when De Boer took over the LC program, and is one the Lynden Christian coach will always have a soft spot for.

"The toughest thing for me personally, and the rest of the coaching staff, has nothing to do with the game," De Boer said. "It's the fact we are saying goodbye to a really special group of young men. We started with a mission. We wrote our mission statement up on the board, and that was to proclaim Christ through our effort and our attitude, and they have been the torch bearers of that mission. That's the part that really stands out to us about this group of young men. They haven't just changed the course of LC basketball. They have changed the culture of a school. They've redefined cool. They are just such great guys. These are guys who are going to be great fathers, husbands and co-workers - all the things that matter."

Reach Andrew Lang at andrew.lang@bellinghamherald.com or call 360-756-2862.

CEDAR PARK CHRISTIAN 52, LYNDEN CHRISTIAN 50

Lynden Christian 11 16 14 9 - 50

Cedar Park Christian 13 11 16 12 - 52

FG FT Reb

LYNDEN CHRISTIAN Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS

Nathan Meppelink 23 1-8 3-4 1-8 0 0 5

Zach Roetcisoender 10 1-5 0-1 1-2 1 0 2

Levin Vander Yacht 18 3-3 0-0 1-1 0 3 9

Truman Van Dalen 24 3-8 8-8 1-5 3 2 16

Daulton Hommes 14 1-4 0-0 0-1 0 3 2

Jamie Heystek 7 0-2 0-0 2-2 1 0 0

Grant Wolffis 7 2-3 0-0 0-2 1 1 4

Josh Hornstra 5 0-2 0-0 2-2 0 0 0

Dustin Brandsma 19 1-3 2-2 0-4 0 4 4

Willy Scholten 11 1-2 0-0 0-1 0 0 2

Isaac Reimer 25 2-6 2-2 1-5 0 4 6

Totals 15-46 15-17 13-41 6 17 50

Percentages: FG .326, FT .882. 3-Point FG: 5-22, .227 (Meppelink 0-5, Roetcisocender 0-1, Vander Yacht 3-3, Van Dalen 2-5, Hommes 0-1, Heystek 0-1, Wolffis 0-1, Hornstra 0-1, Brandsma 0-1, Scholten 0-1, Reimer 0-2). Blocked Shots: 4 (Reimer 4). Steals: 2 (Meppelink 1, Roetcisoender 1, ). Turnovers: 21 (Meppelink 1, Roetcisoender 3, Vander Yacht 3, Van Dalen 5, Hommes 1, Brandsma 3, Reimer 4).

FG FT Reb

CEDAR PARK CHR. Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS

Nate Lundberg 11 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 1 0

Trey Drechsel 29 5-16 2-2 0-0 3 1 12

Ben Anderson 4 0-0 0-0 0-1 0 0 0

Anthony Almeida 7 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Luke Saufferer 22 1-5 0-0 0-2 1 4 3

Evan Scholten 31 6-11 5-6 1-7 0 4 21

David McLaurin 11 0-3 1-2 0-1 1 0 1

Daniel Christenson 17 4-9 1-2 2-3 0 1 9

Isaiah Penchion 29 1-5 4-7 3-7 3 4 6

Totals 17-50 13-19 9-29 9 15 52

Percentages: FG .340, FT .684. 3-Point FG: 5-15, .333 (Lundberg 0-1, Drechsel 0-2, Saufferer 1-4, Scholten 4-7, McLaurin 0-1). Blocked Shots: 5 (Almeida 1, Scholten 3, Christenson 1). Steals: 15 (Drechsel 2, Saufferer 6, Scholten 2, McLaurin 2, Christenson 1, Penchion 2). Turnovers: 7 (Lundberg 1, Drechsel 1, Saufferer 4, Christenson 1).

2012-13 RESULTS

Dec. 3 Ferndale W 64-43

Dec. 6 Santa Fe Christian (at Arizona) L 54-51

Dec. 7 Northwest Christian (at Arizona) W 68-41

Dec. 8 Brethren Christian (at Arizona) L 64-63

Dec. 11 Burlington-Edison W 67-56

Dec. 14 Blaine* W 71-29

Dec. 18 at Bellingham* L 66-57

Dec. 21 Mount Baker* W 67-34

Dec. 27 Cashmere W 71-68

Dec. 28 Sultan W 63-20

Jan. 3 at Burlington-Edison* W 65-58

Jan. 8 Anacortes* W 57-48

Jan. 11 at Lynden* L 53-48, OT

Jan. 15 at Ferndale* W 61-45

Jan. 19 at Friday Harbor W 78-58

Jan. 21 at Sedro-Woolley* W 62-57

Jan. 24 Meridian* W 64-61

Jan. 26 at Nooksack Valley* W 79-58

Jan. 28 Squalicum* W 67-66

Feb. 1 at Sehome* L 56-49

CLASS 1A NORTHWEST DISTRICT TOURNAMENT

Feb. 5 Coupeville W 70-19

Feb. 7 Meridian W 46-29

Feb. 9 King's (at Mountlake Terrace) W 61-52

CLASS 1A TRI-DISTRICT TOURNAMENT

Feb. 14 Seattle Acad. (at Mountlake Terrace) W 56-49

Feb. 16 Cedar Park Chr. (at Lynnwood) W 52-39

CLASS 1A STATE TOURNAMENT

Feb. 23 Hoquiam (at Mount Vernon) W 55-27

Feb. 28 Cashmere (at Yakima) W 60-51

March 1 King's (at Yakima) L 45-38

March 2 Cedar Park Chr. (at Yakima) L 52-50

FIFTH PLACE

2012-13 STATISTICS

No. Player Yr. Pos. G Pts. Avg.

11 Blake Mellema So. G 5 4 0.8

13 Nathan Meppelink Sr. G 29 234 8.1

15 Zach Roetcisoender Fr. G 27 93 3.4

21 Levi Vander Yacht Sr. G 29 107 3.7

23 Truman Van Dalen Sr. G 29 212 7.3

25 Daulton Hommes So. G 29 248 8.6

31 Jamie Heystek Jr. G 19 25 1.3

33 Grant Wolffis Jr. G 23 41 1.8

35 Josh Hornstra Jr. F 24 29 1.2

41 Dustin Brandsma Sr. F 29 261 9.0

43 Willy Scholten Sr. F 16 29 1.8

45 Isaac Reimer Sr. F 29 472 16.3

TROPHY CASE

Year Class Place

1965 1A Second

1969 1A Seventh

1970 1A Eighth

1971 1A Sixth

1972 1A Third

1973 1A Seventh

1975 1A Third

1976 1A First

1979 1A Second

1982 1A First

1983 1A Sixth

1984 1A Third

1988 1A Second

1995 1A Eighth

1999 1A First

2001 2A Second

2002 2A Third

2003 2A Fifth

2005 2A Fifth

2006 2A First

2012 1A First

2013 1A Fifth

SOURCE: WIAA.com

Reach DAVID RASBACH at david.rasbach@bellinghamherald.com or call 715-2271.