YAKIMA – From the opening tip to the final buzzer, Lynden Christian showed its collective dominance in every phase of the game and it resulted in a 61-42 victory over Zillah for the 1A state championship.
Senior Boyce Robertson was given the toughest task of all going into the game, it was his job to cover the leader of the Leopards in 6-foot-5 senior Dekker Van De Graaf, who had just scored 34 points the previous night in the semifinals.
Not only did Robertson accept the job, but he excelled at it.
He held Zillah’s leading scorer to just four points, zero in the second half. On the other side of the ball, the superbly athletic forward scored 13 points. He also grabbed 10 rebounds, incredibly with eight of them on the offensive glass…. which brings me to another high point for the Lyncs. Lynden Christian collected an amazing 24 offensive rebounds, while the Leopards grabbed just 15 defensive rebounds, and 24 total.
The quickness and power of the Lyncs propelled them to an 18-9 lead after one quarter, and a 32-19 lead at the half.
The second half was tighter, but still favored Lynden Christian who splashed home seven 3-pointers.
Junior guard Dawson Hintz wowed the crowd with his relentless acrobatic style of basketball, and he finished the game with 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists. He was also named the Most Valuable Player of the 1A tournament.
Junior guard Gunnar Dykstra scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds, and he was also named to the All-Tournament First Team.
Junior forward Kaden Veldman shook off early foul trouble to finish with 10 points and a team-high 11 rebounds. He also knocked down both of his shots from beyond the arc, and was named to the All-Tournament 2nd Team.
Lynden Christian finished the season on a 25-game winning streak, and with an overall record of 26-1.
Lynden Christian 61, Zillah 42 LC 18 14 11 18 - 61 ZIL 9 10 9 14 - 42 Lynden Christian: Hintz 18, Dykstra 15, Howell 0, Maberry 5, Kamphouse 0, Ridnour 0, VanKooten 0, Robertson 13, Kooiman 0, Veldman 10, Herwerden 0, Vos 0. Zillah: N/A.
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