LYNDEN – Whether we are talking about Nooksack Valley’s Jordan Veening and Casey Bauman, who evidently grew up within 100 yards of each other, or the athletes from Bellingham, Squalicum and Sehome, who have played against each other for years, tonight simply brought closure. Both for the athletes themselves, but also the parents and friends who have walked with them along this journey. Tonight was about celebrating.
“This is our 32nd year of doing this,” said one of the event organizers, Greg Helgath, referring to the yearly Boys and Girls Club basketball gala. “Our goal really is to celebrate these athletes for all that they have accomplished. Most of them have grown up playing together or against each other, and tonight is about giving them that one last opportunity to do this.”
The celebration began with the girls 3-point contest. Sehome’s Carissa McDowell caught fire late in her 30 seconds to run her total to eight made buckets, but it was not enough to chase down Sierra Smith of Lynden, who took advantage of her “home court” knowledge of the rim, and drained 10 shots, and take the title.
The ladies’ ability to light up the net continued into the game itself. The City team connected on 14 3-pointers total, nine of them in the first half alone. They were led by Meridian’s Kyrin Baklund’s 15 points and Ellesse Fitzgerald 14 points, but the scoring really came from the entire roster. The City team led 41-25 at the half. Luckily, the County team rallied in the 2nd half led by two Lady Lyncs, Avery Dykstra and Riley VanHulzen, as well as Nooksack Valley’s Katrina Gimmaka and Mount Baker’s hot shooting McKenzie Yost. A Sam VanLoo (Lynden Christian) bucket with five ticks left in the fourth quarter would bring the County back within four, but that would be it, as the City defeated the County 72-68. The Most Inspirational award went to Chalae Wolters of Squalicum.
The boys then took the court and started out with their own version of the 3-Point contest. While three shooters (Noah Walker of Lynden, AJ Rankin of Ferndale, and Ritz Vouet of Bellingham) all shot well, finishing tied with eight connections, it was Bailey Hodge of Meridian that took home the title with 10 made buckets.
Then it was time for a fan favorite, the dunk contest. Veening and Bauman from the Pioneers squared off against Lynden Christian’s George DeJong. While Veening had the best single dunk of the night (jumping over a friend he pulled from the crowd), it was DeJong who took home the title with two completed jams, both pulling scores of 8, 9, and 10 from the judges.
As the game itself started, the most obvious difference between the County and City teams was height. This was put on display as DeJong lined up for the jump ball against the shortest guy on the court, Vouet. The rest of the game really was wide open. The County “Big Boys” tried to follow suit with Lynden’s Noah Walker (20 points), by throwing up their own long balls when they could, as well as pound the ball low to DeJong who led everyone with 25 points. The City boys; however, stuck to what they do best moving the ball around, spreading the giants out and waiting for their chance. That chance came as the 4th quarter started, City trailing 62-53.
Using their quickness and athleticism, they began to wear down the County team. Led by Ferndale’s Reid Benson and James Hinson (17 and 16 points, respectively) along with a huge 4th quarter from Squalicum’s Kendall Englehart (who finished with 15 points), the City went on a 17-0 run to start final quarter. As time ran down, Lynden’s Trey LaBounty, who is not necessarily known for his ball handling, went coast to coast to throw down a two handed jam, closing out the scoring and giving the City an 85-75 victory over the County. The Most Inspirational Award went to Reid Benson of Ferndale.
The best part of the evening however, once the game was done, was seeing families from different teams shaking hands and hugging each other out on the court. Pictures were being taken with the “boys or girls from the other side of the tracks”, and what for four years has been rivalry and competition, on Friday night, was something bigger. A celebration of Whatcom County Basketball.
-Blake Witman
WhatcomPreps.com
Great article! Better coverage than the herald ever did!