Boys basketball suffers losses

Colby Knutzen shoots a lay-in against Lynden. Photo by Janell Korlever

By Oliver Lazenby

Blaine boys varsity basketball lost 66-34 at home to Lynden on January 24, making their record 2–14 overall. Adam Vega led the Borderites on offense with 12 points.

On January 19, Blaine lost 61–49 at home against Sehome. The Borderites tried to claw their way back into the game, outscoring Sehome 32–28 in the second half, but still came up short. Vega had a team-high 17 points.

Blaine hasn’t won a game since late December, and they’ll play a few more tough opponents in the final four games of the season. Despite that, head coach Rob Ridnour sees improvement.

“The thing about this season is we just wanted to change the culture and we feel like we’re doing that and getting back on track,” he said.

Ridnour is seeing that change in his team’s attitude – they’re competing every night in games and practice. Colby Knutzen and Vega, both juniors, have emerged as consistent leaders.

“I feel really good about where the kids are, because we didn’t really have a lot of experience coming into the season,” Ridnour said. “The biggest thing is just competing every game. Even if the outcome isn’t good, I think people in the stands see that.”

Ridnour wants to see his Borderites scoring more consistently in the coming games. On Tuesday night they scored 13 points in the first quarter, and then only one point in the second.

The Borderites play next against Lynden Christian (17–0) at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, January 25, at home.