YAKIMA —The King’s boys basketball team outscored Lynden Christian 18-9 in the final period to erase a four-point deficit and earn the Class 1A state championship with a 45-40 victory at the Yakima Valley Sundome Saturday.
“First of all it was a war,” King’s head coach Rick Skeen said. “Lynden Christian played a tremendous game and made life really diffcult for us. When it came down to it we had some kids make some plays. It just came down to our seniors saying, ‘We aren’t going to let this one slip away.’”
Senior Noah Bundrant knocked down both of his 3-pointers in the final three minutes to push the Knights to victory. His first would give the Knights a 37-35 lead and spark an 8-0 run, which was capped by his second 3-pointer.
King’s would knock down 6-of-9 shots from the foul line in the final period and Lynden Christian would get no closer than four after Bundrant’s second 3-pointer.
Bundrant was named the tournament’s MVP after finishing with 10 points on 4-for-9 shooting with six rebounds.
“He is a senior who has put so much time in and has earned everything that he’s got,” Skeen said of Bundrant. “Im just super proud of him for stepping up and making plays. It kind of came down to it and we handed it over to our seniors.”
Defensively, the Knights held the Lynx to just 4-of-15 shooting in the final quarter, including 1-of-7 on 3-pointers.
“We played with urgency,” Skeen said. “We just dug in and got stops, and we were just able to hit enough big shots at the end.”
Senior Calvin Kispert scored a team-high11 points for the Knights. His younger brother, Corey, was an all-tournament first team selection and finished with eight points and six rebounds. The younger Kispert, a sophomore, scored 20 points in each of the team’s two previous wins.
Zach Roetcisoender scored a game-high 16 points and Cody Fransen added 11 points and 14 rebounds for the Lynx.
Saturday’s title is the third 1A championship for King’s, which lost in the championship game the last two seasons, falling to Zillah in 2014 and Toledo in 2013. The victory also wrapped up an emotional season for the Knights, who were involved in a harrowing bus crash on February 14 when returning from a 74-63 victory over Lynden Christian in the 1A district championship game.
“A special ending to what has been a crazy few weeks,” Skeen said. “We’re all so thankful to be talking and walking, and we believed in our message, ‘Saved for a reason.’ This is a group that I will never forget and I don’t think they will forget each other.”
At Yakima Valley Sundome
Lynden Christian 11 7 13 9 —40
King’s 10 11 6 18 —45
Lynden Christian—Blake Mellema 3, Josiah Meppelink 3, Lucas Roetcisoender 2, Jake Van Berkum 0, Tanner Couma 0, Jake Poag 5, Zach Roetcisoender 16, Nate Hielkema 0, Grant Rubbert 0, Cody Fransen 11. King’s—Andrew Ayers 4, Koa Wilkins 0, Brett Jones 0, Noah Bundrant 10, David Barhanovich 6, Corey Kispert 8, Josh Alexander 6, Calvin Kispert 11. 3-point goals—Bundrant 2, Barhanovich 1, Mellema 1, Poag 1. Records—Lynden Christian 18-9 overall. King’s 25-2.
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