Kyle Coston was the perfect guy to start leading Lynden Christian’s victory parade late in the fourth quarter.

Desperate and looking for any way to get back into the Class 2A boys basketball state championship game Saturday, King’s was forced to start fouling with 2 minutes, 48 seconds remaining. All they ended up doing was prolonging the Lyncs’ victory celebration in the SunDome.

Coston was the target of those late hacks and grabs, going to the foul line seven times in the final quarter. Ahead by 15, he didn’t need to hit all the free throws to seal a 53-36 win; every point was just padding to his game-high 25.

That’s because the Lyncs’ effort already had earned their fourth state championship; now all the tournament’s most valuable player had to do was enjoy those last few minutes of high school basketball.

“You know they had to foul since they were down and start shooting 3-pointers and make us miss,” said Coston, who led the tournament in scoring and is on his way to Portland State next year. “It was big and it started to sink in when I was sitting at the free-throw line, but it’s still sinking in. This is big, we’re 2A champs.”

There was definitely a lot more at stake compared to the first time the two teams met — a 46-33 Lynden Christian win in the district championship game only eight days ago. But besides that, there wasn’t much different besides the location in this matchup.

“They came out a little stronger since it’s the state championship,” said Cory Hendricks, who scored 14 points and led the rebounding effort with nine. “But we pushed right back because we wanted it and we had a shot to win state. We were just excited to have the opportunity to win it.”

Even with Coston carrying most of the load offensively, the Lyncs’ efforts were visible all across the court. Hendricks was battling so hard inside that he had a bloody nose at the end of the game. Teammate Brett Van Weerdhuizen was skidding face first across the hardwood trying to chase down loose balls.

Greg Burgers, who also earned first-team honors and averaged 14.3 points per game at the tourney entering Saturday’s game, had an off night with only eight points. But the LC senior guard sported a scrapped elbow from all his drives into the Knights’ 2-3 zone.

King’s just never managed to match that intensity as the Lyncs pulled away from an 11-11 tie early in the second quarter to take a 21-13 lead at halftime. From there Coston took over, scoring 18 points after the break and helped spark 6-2 runs to start the third and fourth quarters.

Charlie Enquist, who also garnered first-team honors, led the Knights with 12 points despite having to spend most of the second half on the bench. He picked up his fourth foul with 3:09 left in the third quarter and didn’t manage a point in the fourth.

King’s, who averaged only 37.5 ppg at the tourney, had another poor offensive night. The Knights shot only 26 percent (13 of 50) from the field compared to LC’s 48.6 percent, allowing LC coach Vic Wolffis to celebrate something that meant a lot more than his 200th career coaching win did earlier this season.

“It’s a great sensation,” Wolffis said. “It’s a feeling of happiness mixed with joy, pride and accomplishment all rolled into one. There also is a sense of relief since we put so much work into this season.”

King's -- Clark 1-4 0-0 2, Barrett 1-4 0-0 3, Blue 0-0 0-0 0, Madrazo 1-14 3-3 5, Ayers 0-1 0-0 0, A. Bowlin 0-2 0-0 0, McKay 2-2 0-0 6, C. Bowlin 1-6 2-2 4, Uhrich 2-2 0-0 4, Webb 0-1 0-0 0, Enquist 5-9 2-5 12, Lutton 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 13-50 7-10 36.
Lynden Christian -- Van Weerdhuizen 0-2 0-2 0, Bierlink 0-0 0-0 0, Honcoop 0-0 0-0 0, Holleman 0-0 0-0 0, Haan 0-1 0-0 0, G. Burgers 3-7 2-6 8, De Boer 1-2 0-0 2, Hendricks 5-7 4-7 14, K. Burgers 2-3 0-0 4, Coston 7-15 10-16 25, Bouma 0-0 0-0 0, Kooiman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-37 16-31 53.
King's	7	6	9	14	--	36
Lynden Christian	11	10	11	21	--	53
3-point goals--K 3-16 (McKay 2-2, Barrett 1-4, A. Bowlin 0-1, Clark 0-2, Madrazo 0-7), LC 1-8 (Coston 1-4, G. Burgers 0-1, K. Burgers 0-1, Van Weerdhuizen 0-2). Rebounds--K 33 (Enquist 7, C. Bowlin 6), LC 35 (Hendricks 9, Coston 7). Assists--K 5, LC 6 (G. Burgers 3). Steals--K 3 (Lutton 2), LC 4. Blocked shots--K 0, LC 5 (Coston 3). Fouled out--Clark, Enquist. Total fouls--K 24, LC 14. Technical fouls--None. Turnovers--K 8, LC 9.