LYNDEN — Lynden Christian’s high-octane offense drilled 14 3-pointers and the Lyncs cruised to an 87-68 home victory against Burlington-Edison Friday, Jan. 3.
“When we shoot the ball well, we are tough to guard,” LC coach Tim Zylstra said. “When we keep people spaced out and knock down shots, things can go our way.”
The Lyncs started the game with four 3-point shots in the corner, including a couple from Luke VanKooten.
“Everyone on our team can make the shot,” Lyncs’ guard Gannon Dykstra said. “I am able to go fast downhill and kick it to the guys and they can shoot it.”
Lynden Christian defeats Burlington-Edison in offensive shootout
Dykstra finished with a game-high 33 points to go with 11 rebounds, seven assists and three steals. Burlington-Edison’s top performer was 6-foot-8 post Timophey Feskov, finishing with 21 points, nine rebounds and three blocks.
Lynden Christian took an early 14-7 lead against the Tigers as Feskov scored two layups within the first couple of minutes and caused issues for a smaller Lyncs squad.
“Burlington has a good inside game,” Zylstra said. “That will teach us going forward on how to guard that. We can learn a lot from them.”
Lynden Christian also got into foul trouble in the first quarter, allowing the Tigers to convert six free throws, but Lynden Christian still held a 28-16 lead.
In the second quarter, the Lyncs continued to score from behind the arc, taking a 37-22 lead in the first 80 seconds. However, Tigers’ Feskov, Madden Whitlock and Spencer Betz scored quickly in transition to slim the lead to 41-30.
The Lyncs finished the first half with a 53-34 advantage.
Burlington-Edison dominated the third quarter. The Tigers trailed 61-43 after a couple of minutes before going on a 17-7 run. Lynden Christian struggled underneath the basket with their contested layups while Feskov and Logan Heigert dominated in the paint to make it 68-60.
“In our conference, you have to be able to play against guys like that so we have to work harder on guarding bigs better,” Zylstra said.
The Lyncs’ starters left with two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter after going on a 19-4 run to take an 87-64 lead. During that run, Dykstra and VanKooten scored five points each and Dawson Hintz scored four points.
Burlington-Edison’s reserves finished the game with two consecutive baskets before the final buzzer.
Lynden Christian (10-1) will face Meridian at 7:15 p.m. Monday, Jan. 6 at Meridian High. Burlington-Edison (8-2) will take on Anacortes at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 7 at Anacortes High.
Nick Zeller-Singh is CDN's sports reporter; reach him at nickzellersingh@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 104.
