YAKIMA — Lynden’s tall firs left Hockinson stumped.
One of the tallest teams in the Class 2A state tournament showed why it’s a favorite to win it all. Lynden’s height overshadowed Hockinson’s shooters in a 50-43 win Thursday in the quarterfinals at the Sundome.
Hockinson (19-6) will play a consolation-round game at 2 p.m. Friday against top-ranked Clarkston (21-4), which was upset in its quarterfinal game by unranked Lake Washington.
With four starters 6-foot-3 or taller, Lynden sought to exploit its height advantage over a Hockinson lineup that had four players 6-foot-1 or shorter.
That height discrepancy showed itself mostly in Lynden’s defense. Every Hockinson drive to the rim was aggressively contested. Lynden’s perimeter defenders stayed in the face of Hockinson’s outside shooters, preventing any open looks.
Hockinson finished the game 15-for-54 from the field (27.8 percent).
“Their half-court defense was phenomenal,” Hockinson coach Trevor Person said. “We had to scrap for everything we got. We didn’t finish well around the rim, but give them credit. They were big, physical and challenged our shots.”
The Hawks, however, hung close through its feisty play. Hockinson outrebounded Lynden 37-32, including 20 offensive rebounds. The Hawks forced 14 turnovers.
“I was very proud of our effort,” Person said. “We changed a lot of what they wanted to do toward our tempo. We just didn’t capitalize on their turnovers.”
Yet those hustle plays couldn’t be converted into points. Hockinson struggled from long range, shooting 3-for-16 from 3-point range.
Alan Haagen, Hockinson’s leading scorer at 14.2 points per game, had few open shots and finished with 7 points.
Jack Klodt picked up most of the scoring load, scoring 17 points, including 14 in the second half.
The most barren of Hockinson’s shooting drought was the second quarter. The Hawks shot 1-for-11 in the quarter, their only field goal being Taylor Rennaker’s 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Still, Hockinson only trailed 21-17. Lynden’s offense was held in check except for 6-foot-4 guard Sterling Somers, who scored 13 of his game-high 22 points in the first half.
Lynden started flexing its offensive muscle in the second half, when 6-foot-7 post Scott Hastings had eight of his 12 points.
The decisive run came at the start of the fourth quarter. A five-point burst saw Lynden open its biggest lead of the game, 39-29.
Hockinson would keep the game interesting, but never pulled closer than six points the rest of the way.
LYNDEN 50, HOCKINSON 43
HOCKINSON — Taylor Rennaker 10, Nate Gunderson 2, Jack Klodt 17, Alan Haagen 7, Jared Broer 0, Austin Steimle 3, Taylor Ellensohn 0, Littleton Davidson 4, Jess Krahn 0, Brian Prigmore 0. Totals 15-54 (3-16) 10-14 43.
LYNDEN — Jordan Wittenburg 3, Parker Harrison 2, Sterling Somers 22, Try Shagren 0, Jaremy Martin 2, Scott Hastings 12, Jalani Phelps 9, Caden Lair 0; Totals 18-40 (2-14) 12-20 50.
Hockinson 11 6 12 14–43
Lynden 13 8 13 16–50
