Lynden must battle past Liberty in 2A boys’ regional to reach Yakima
Lynden vs. Liberty
4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, at Renton High School
Lynden Lions (22-2)
Enrollment: 592.0
League: Northwest Conference (tied for first)
District: Northwest (second)
State appearances: 47 (107-58)
State titles: 8 (1961, 1962, 1968, 1981, 1991, 1992, 2007, 2012)
Coach: Brian Roper
Leading scorers
Player | Pos. | Yr. | Ht. | PPG |
Sterling Somers | F | Sr. | 6-5 | 18.8 |
Noah King | G | Sr. | 5-11 | 10.7 |
Andrew Kivlighn | G | Jr. | 6-3 | 8.5 |
Jordan Wittenberg | G | Sr. | 6-0 | 8.0 |
Christian Zamora | F | Fr. | 6-4 | 8.0 |
Scouting the Lions: After a loss to Shorecrest in the district semifinals, Lynden had to rebound for a 64-45 win over Archbishop Murphy to grab the district’s final ticket to state. The Lions lived by the 3 in the third-place game, nailing 12 from deep.
Key to the game: Rebound. Poor shooting and rebounding cost the Lions in their loss to Shorecrest.
Player to watch: SPU recruit Somers came up big in the district final, matching a season-high 16 rebounds and scoring the game’s first 10 points. He’s scored double figures in 13 straight.
Liberty Patriots (13-11)
Enrollment: 891.8
League: KingCo 2A/3A (four)
District: West Central/SeaKing (second)
State appearances: None
State titles: None
Coach: Omar Parker
Leading scorers
Player | Pos. | Yr. | Ht. | PPG |
Noble Cooper | G | Sr. | 6-5 | *19.9 |
Connor Chapman | G | Jr. | 6-5 | *11.9 |
Stephen Hei | G | So. | 6-1 | *6.5 |
Mikey Walter | F | Jr. | 6-4 | *6.0 |
Jack Elfstrom | G | Fr. | 6-2 | *5.1 |
*Full season stats not available
Scouting the Patriots: Don’t let the average record fool you — Liberty plays in a league full of bigger schools. The Patriots beat top-ranked River Ridge to advance to the district title game, before losing a thriller to North Kitsap 76-68 in double overtime.
Key to the game: Handling the pressure. This will be the program’s first trip to state and the Patriots need to keep their nerves about them.
Player to watch: Cooper has been the Patriots’ leader all season. He scored 27 points in the district title game loss to North Kitsap.
Herald prediction
The No. 2 Lions know they can’t afford another game like they had against Shorecrest from here on out.
LYNDEN 67-59
This story was originally published February 26, 2016 at 4:17 PM with the headline "Lynden must battle past Liberty in 2A boys’ regional to reach Yakima."