Lynden’s late rally falls short against Foss in 2A semifinal

The Lynden Lions gave tall and talented Foss all it wanted in the Class 2A boys state tournament semifinals on Friday night, but fell short, 54-51, at the Yakima Valley SunDome.

Christian Zamora’s deep 3-point attempt to tie the game drew iron but glanced away just before the buzzer. The Lions had battled back from deficits of six and five points in the final five minutes to have that chance.

Top-seeded Lynden, 19-7, will play Olympic for third place at 11:15 a.m. Saturday. The Lions are assured of bringing home their 35th state trophy in school history.

Lynden started strong and led by as much as eight on two occasions in the first half. But Berto Gittens, named the Class 2A Player of the Year by the state’s coaches, hit two 3-pointers in the final minute sandwiched around a leaning floater by Zamora to close the margin to 29-25 at the half.

Lynden did a good job of neutralizing the 6-foot-5 Gittens, a Boise State commit, in the first half. His two 3-pointers were his only points, and he had no rebounds.

But in the second half, Foss’ 1-3-1 zone defense extended Lynden’s offense and made it difficult for the Lions to get the kind of shots they wanted.

“Their 1-3-1 zone, we’ve seen it before and they’re really long,” Lynden coach Brian Roper said. “We got a little stagnant at times, but I thought the times we attacked, we got what we wanted.”

Foss wrestled away the lead and control of the game with a 10-point burst midway through the third period.

Demetrius Crosby II had five points and Tre Tyson nailed a 3-pointer, giving Foss a 43-35 lead with a minute left in the period. Andrew Kivlighn drew the Lions closer on an offensive rebound and putback with 28 seconds left in the third.

Lynden closed to within two points with 2:09 left in the fourth quarter on a three-point play by Kivlighn, but Gittens answered 20 seconds later with a 3-pointer from the right side.

The Lions got to within two points in the final 1:26 on a lay-in and two free throws by Clayton Whitman. Crosby hit a pair of free throws with 7.8 seconds left and Lynden’s final open look was off the mark.

“One of the kids in the huddle said ‘Yesterday we were in the same position and we came back,’ ” Roper said. “We believed until the very end, and that last shot just hit off the rim. It would have been nice to have gone to overtime.”

That the Lions had a chance at the end was a testament to their resolve, in Roper’s eyes. It just wasn’t their day.

“We got some open shots late, they just didn’t fall,” Roper said. “That’s basketball.”

This story was originally published March 3, 2017 at 8:47 PM with the headline "Lynden’s late rally falls short against Foss in 2A semifinal."