Blaine boys basketball beat a young Nooksack Valley team 52-49 on senior night Tuesday in the high school gymnasium. Two big three-pointers from senior Avery Dohner and junior Carson Lehnert were enough for the Borderites to fend off a Pioneer fourth-quarter comeback.
Nooksack Valley has only one senior on its varsity team and started three freshmen on the night.
Senior Scott Baldwin led the Borderites in scoring, with 14 on the night. Lehnert had 12 and senior Cole Thomas had nine.
“In the grand scheme of things, it was nice to win on senior night,” head coach Brett Farrar said. “We didn’t play our best, but it’s nice to still win when we don’t play our best.”
Blaine and Nooksack traded baskets for most of the game; with neither team getting more than a five-point lead, until the end of the third quarter, when Blaine finally established a considerable eight-point lead on Nooksack. But the Pioneers came out flying in the fourth quarter, making multiple stops and putting up 15 points.
The rowdy home crowd grew quiet as their rivals continued to drain buckets. Dohner and Lehnert’s threes reignited the packed student section. The threes, a Baldwin two-pointer and two free-throws were enough for the Borderites to see out the game. They finished with 10 points in the fourth quarter after scoring 16 in the each of the previous two quarters.
Farrar said it was a tough week for the team, which is preparing for post-season competition. He hopes the team gets back to its best ahead of the upcoming district tournament.
“I hope we play our best basketball this season,” he said. “I know we’ll bring our all.”
The boys will travel to Ferndale Saturday, February 5 to play their last game of the regular season. The game is at 1:30 p.m.
The boys are 11-5 this season.
Girls basketball
The Lady Borderites beat Squalicum 38-36 on the road last Wednesday and beat Oak Harbor 42-24 at home Friday. They then traveled to Anacortes where they lost 37-32 to the Seahawks.
They were scheduled to play at Nooksack Valley Wednesday night. The girls will then host Ferndale Thursday, February 3, at 7:15 p.m. and Sedro-Woolley Saturday, February 5, at 1:30 p.m. to close out their regular season.
They are 6-9 this season.
Wrestling
The boys varsity wrestling team scrambled with Sehome and Meridian January 26. Head coach Tom Hinz said the team wrestled 25 times and had 23 wins. “I think we’re ready for the post-season,” he said.
The team is sending 24 wrestlers to the regional tournament this weekend in Granite Falls.
The girls team will send 11 girls to the regional tournament this weekend at Meridian. “We’re a young team,” head coach Damon Higgins said. “My hope is for as many girls to wrestle through regionals as far as possible.”
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