Fantastic finish sends Lynden to 2A semifinal
Christian Zamora hit a clutch 3-pointer in the final minute and Clayton Whitman followed with a steal and a dunk to spark Lynden to a thrilling 47-44 win over Anacortes on Thursday in the Class 2A state high school boys basketball tournament.
The win moved Lynden into Friday’s semifinals against Foss of Tacoma, a 84-69 winner over Pullman.
On the ropes against Anacortes’ vaunted full-court press, Lynden scored the game’s final seven points to stun the Seahawks.
“There’s a lot of cliches when it comes to sports, but our guys showed a lot of heart, character, whatever you want to say ... we’ll take it,” said Lynden coach Brian Roper in a postgame interview with KGMI radio.
Lynden and Anacortes came in Nos. 2 and 3, respectively, in the state’s new RPI rankings, but the Lions (19-7) took charge early and held a 27-19 halftime lead behind Whitman’s 10 points.
Anacortes (20-3) turned up the defensive pressure in the third quarter, forcing several turnovers with its press and outscoring Lynden 14-4 in the period to take a 33-31 lead.
The Seahawks’ Connor Rodriguez hit back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the fourth quarter, and things looked dire for Lynden when Jesse Keltner, a 6-foot-6 forward, grabbed a loose ball and scored to give Anacortes a 44-40 lead with 1:11 left.
That set the stage for Lynden’s late 7-0 charge.
“Every timeout ... our kids had some real positive talk in the huddle, telling each other, ‘We can do this,’ ” Roper said. “These guys they have some moxie, they have some determination. We lost the momentum and somehow we found a way to win.”
The Lions avenged a 52-44 loss to Anacortes in their other meeting this season on Dec. 15.
Whitman led Lynden with 16 points, Zamora had 15 and Andrew Kivlighn had 10.
Keltner finished with 11 points, 13 rebounds and four blocked shots to lead Anacortes. Rodriguez had 14 points off the bench and Trystan Lowry had 10.
Lynden will face No. 13 Foss on Friday at 5:30 p.m., while Anacortes will take on third-seeded Pullman in a loser-out game at 10:30 a.m.
Lynden 47, Anacortes 44
Lynden | 17 | 10 | 4 | 16 | 47 |
Anacortes | 9 | 10 | 14 | 11 | 44 |
LYNDEN — Clayton Whitman 7-10 0-2 16, Marsh 1-6 1-4 3, Elsner 0-4 0-0 0, Andrew Kivlighn 2-8 4-4 10, Christian Zamora 5-10 3-6 15, Silves 0-1 0-0 0, House 0-1 0-0 0, Shine 0-3 1-2 1, LaBounty 0-1 0-0 0, Hope 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 16-46 9-18 47.
ANACORTES — Vance 2-8 0-2 5, Blouin 1-4 0-0 2, Jesse Keltner 2-5 7-8 11, Trystan Lowry 3-10 2-2 10, South 1-6 0-1 2, Moore 0-1 0-0 0, Connor Rodriguez 5-8 1-4 14, E. Rodriguez 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 14-46 10-17 44.
3-point goals - Lynden 6-21 (Whitman 2-2, Marsh 0-1, Elsner 0-4, Kivlighn 2-6, Zamora 2-6, Silves 0-1, House 0-1); Anacortes 10-17 (Vance 1-4, Blouin 0-1, Lowry 2-5, C. Rodriguez 3-4, E. Rodriguez 0-4). Fouled-out - None. Rebounds - Lynden 31 (Marsh 5); Anacortes 38 (Keltner 13). Assists - Lynden 8 (Elsner 4); Anacortes 9 (Vance 4). Turnovers - Lynden 15, Anacortes 17. Total fouls - Lynden 16, Anacortes 20.
This story was originally published March 2, 2017 at 5:09 PM with the headline "Fantastic finish sends Lynden to 2A semifinal."