Lyncs knock off Storm in OT with furious comeback

Trailing by nine points with 21 seconds left, Lynden Christian coach Roger DeBoer began thinking how he was going to praise his Lyncs in the locker room for a hard-fought loss to a tremendous Squalicum team.

Then the unfathomable happened.

Lynden Christian capitalized on Squalicum’s missed free throws in the waning moments with two 3-pointers from Tanner Bouma bookended around one from Zach Roetcisoender to send the game into overtime only to be outdone by Grant Rubbert’s game-winning layup with 6 seconds left, giving LC an epic 86-84 Northwest Conference overtime win over the Storm on Thursday, Dec. 17, at Squalicum High.

“We knew we were on house money, and it just worked,” DeBoer said. “It’s one of those amazing games. “The never-say-die, or never-quit that these guys have is pretty cool.”

Roetcisoender scored a game-high 31 points, including 16 during the second quarter. Squalicum was led by Josiah Westbrook’s 27 and Damek Mitchell’s 21. Darious Powell, who connected on five 3s, contributed 19 points.

Most valuable player

Although Zach Roetcisoender didn’t figure into the late-game magic cooked up Tanner Bouma and Grant Rubbert, the senior scorer hung 31 points on the Storm and seemed virtually unguardable at times. He hit five 3s and scored 16 of his 31 during the second quarter.

Turning point of the game

Even after Bouma hit Lynden Christian’s first 3 with 15 seconds left to trim Squalicum’s lead to 73-67 in regulation, little hope of a comeback existed. But following Roetcisoender’s 3-pointer with 7.5 seconds left that cut the Storm’s lead to 73-70, the comeback was on.

Play of the Night

Grant Rubbert hit the game-winner, a smooth drive to the basket with a layup finish, but the honors go to Bouma. With 3.2 seconds left in the fourth, the senior guard faded to the far baseline off an out-of-bounds play, Jo Meppelink threw a perfect pass and Bouma quickly caught it, released and hit nothing but net to send the game into OT.

Up next

Lynden Christian (6-0, 2-0 NWC) takes a day off before traveling to play Cedar Park Christian at noon Saturday, Dec. 19, at Kent’s ShoWare Center. Squalicum (5-1, 0-1 NWC) will look to rebound from its first loss when it travels to face Marysville-Pilchuck at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 19.

This story was originally published December 17, 2015 at 10:51 PM with the headline "Lyncs knock off Storm in OT with furious comeback."