The Road to State: District 1 – 2A

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With the state tournaments looming and teams securing their spots for a chance to win a state title, I took a look into each district within each class to see who's headed to the state tournaments.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the play-in game, 8th seed Sehome would defeat 9th seed Marysville-Pilchuck, 69-54 to keep their season alive.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>1 seed Lynden played 8th seed Sehome and would win with ease, 65-25. [player_tooltip player_id='1696692' first='Brant' last='Heppner'] continued his dominant season with another big performance. He could win the NWC MVP. Sehome would go to the loser-out section of the bracket. 2nd seed Lakewood would beat 7th seed Archbishop-Murphy, 80-42. Archbishop-Murphy would go to the loser-out section of the bracket. 3rd seed Burlington-Edison played 6th seed Bellingham, the Tigers would win 76-57. Bellingham would go to the loser-out section of the bracket. 4th seed Anacortes held off 5th seed Squalicum, 61-56 to advance on. The Storm would go to the loser-out section of the bracket.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the semi-final part of the District 1 2A, 1 seed Lynden played 4th seed Anacortes. The Lions would win 51-39. Anacortes would go to the loser-out section of the bracket. 2nd seed Lakewood defeated 3rd seed Burlington-Edison, 60-47. Lakewood's tough zone defense was too much for the Tigers but they would go to the loser-out section of the bracket.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the loser-out section of the bracket, 5th seed Squalicum beat 8th seed Sehome, 59-31. Sehome's season would come to an end. 7th seed Archbishop Murphy went on the road to defeat 6th seeded Bellingham, 55-54 in a tough back and forth game. Carter Hagen, a freshman, has been playing great ball for the Wildcats here late in the season. Bellingham's season would come to an end.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the District 1 2A championship game, 1 seed Lynden played 2 seed Lakewood. Lakewood would win and shock everyone to earn their spot in the state tournament. Lakewood started the game on a 18-0 start but the Lions pulled back, leading going into the final quarter. Nash Espe for Lakewood would hit a corner 3 with 5 seconds left to win the game. Lynden would get one more chance in the loser out part of the bracket.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the loser out section of the bracket, 3rd seed Burlington-Edison played 5th seed Squalicum. Burlington-Edison would win, 60-43 and keep their season alive. The Storm would see their season end. 4th seed Anacortes played 7th seed Archbishop-Murphy. The Wildcats would upset Anacortes, 61-55 and advance to survive another game. The Seahawks would see their season end.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After surviving the last round of the loser out section, Burlington-Edison played Archbishop-Murphy for a chance to advance to play Lynden for the last spot in the state tournament for 2A District 1. Archbishop-Murphy won the game, 80-79 in 3 overtime. The back and forth battle was won by the younger squad as they continue to shock people. Burlington-Edison had their season end.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the final game of the tournament, Lynden played Archbishop-Murphy&nbsp;&nbsp;for the last spot in the state tournament. Lynden would win, 70-43 to advance on, [player_tooltip player_id='1696692' first='Brant' last='Heppner'] dominated with 30+ points and [player_tooltip player_id='2835606' first='Gordy' last='Bedlington'] had 10+ assists. Archbishop-Murphy would have their season end.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>Teams advancing to state: </strong></em>Lakewood &amp; Lynden</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->