Lummi Nation earns first trip to State final with victory over Seattle Lutheran

Lummi Nation High has been in Spokane at the State B tournament six times prior to this year. In the six previous visits, all in what is now known as the 2B ranks, the Blackhawks’ best finish has been sixth.

But after Friday night’s 66-47 rout of Seattle Lutheran, they will play for their first State 1B basketball title. And that means something.

“It’s more than just for our school and our players, it’s for our whole community,” said coach Jerome Toby. “It goes beyond these 11 guys who have the jerseys on.”

Those guys in the jerseys did their part, especially seniors Dean Williams (20 points) and Kavarez Lane (15).

“The last couple years we came up a little short to come over here,” Toby said. “It was one of (the seniors’) goals to get over here. They’ve stayed focused and they earned it.”

Their opponent in the final? The same team they defeated by two in the Tri-District final two weeks ago, Neah Bay.

“They are one of the premier programs in the state,” Toby said. “We’ve got a lot of respect for them.”

Lummi, 26-0, defeated Neah Bay in a January non-league game 75-49 and then again 58-56 in a seeding game.

The Red Devils will also be looking for their first State title, but in their 24th tournament. They earned another chance with a convincing 67-44 victory over Shorewood Christian (14-12) in the late semifinal at the Arena.

Friday’s first semifinal was also a district rematch, as Lummi and Seattle Lutheran met two weeks ago, with Lummi winning 62-48.

This one was similar, though decided earlier.

Blackhawks’ sophomore Trazil Lane, who had 22 points in their first-round victory and 16 in this one, keyed Lummi’s 26-17 halftime lead with nine points.

The lead ballooned to 20 midway through the third quarter and the Neah Bay rematch was assured.

Over an 8-minute period spanning halftime, Lummi outscored the Saints 17-2. Seattle Lutheran hit just one shot from the field in the third quarter, mainly because it turned the ball over seven times.

The Saints were led by the 18 points of Xavier Turner.

Neah Bay (20-3, the only non-Lummi loss to 2A Sequim), which defeated Shorewood 72-59 in districts, led from the get go in this one, building a 36-23 halftime lead and pulling away from there.

Abraham Venske controlled the boards and the game for Neah Bay, grabbing 10 rebounds and adding 13 points. Jongi Claplanhoo led the Red Devils with 17 points.