Anthony Canales powers Lynden boys basketball past Lynden Christian, 3 takeaways
LYNDEN, Wash. – It was the Anthony Canales show Saturday afternoon as the senior carried Lynden past city rival Lynden Christian, 61-56, in both teams' regular-season finale.
Canales scored a game-high 32 points, more than half of the Lions' total, to lead the way. He also scored Lynden's last 10 points of the game to put it away.
Canales was the only Lynden player to score in double-figures with senior Charlie Ayres contributing nine points and junior Brant Heppner scoring seven.
Gannon Dykstra led the Lyncs with a team-high 23 points. Jeremiah Wright added 14 and Dawson Bouma had 13.
A bounce-back win for the Lions after falling to Class 3A Mount Vernon earlier this week, Lynden now looks ahead to the postseason and defending its state crown.
Here are three takeaways from the Lynden-Lynden Christian game:
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PATIENCE PAYS OFF FOR CANALES
While he led the game in scoring with 32 points, not every basket was falling early for Canales.
But he showed up when it mattered most in the game's biggest moments, including a personal 10-0 run to close out the game.
"He's been in a lot of big games in his career and he's a competitive kid who puts sweat in the bucket," Lynden coach Brian Roper said. "We want the ball in his hands in those moments and he delivered."
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NO REST FOR LYNDEN
Despite playing their fifth game in less than eight days, the Lions didn't look the least bit fatigued.
Make-up games from snow cancelations couldn't fit anywhere else on Lynden's schedule except the past week, but it didn't take much to get the Lions amped up to play their city rival from down the road.
"I thought our guys bounced back well," Roper said. "In a game like that you kind of forget about how tired you are and you just keep battling."
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GAME DECIDED ON THE GLASS
With Lynden Christian's two big bodies in seniors Kayden Stuit and Jeremiah Wright, Roper said they knew they were going to have to fight for every loose ball.
"They have a couple of monsters in there, so we had to scrap and claw for everything we could get," Roper said.
Lynden Christian coach Tim Zylstra said even when the Lyncs got stops, Lynden found ways to get multiple possessions.
"They pursued harder and outworked us," Zylstra said. "I feel like they won every 50-50 ball that was on the ground, too, and sometimes, the ball bounces that way."
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Photo by Hailey Palmer
Photo by Hailey Palmer
Photo by Hailey Palmer
Photo by Hailey Palmer
Photo by Hailey Palmer
Photo by Hailey Palmer
Photo by Hailey Palmer
Photo by Hailey Palmer
