Medical Lake eliminates Lakeside in NEA playoffs

In the month of February Medical Lake and Lakeside faced each other four times in 16 days, three of those in playoffs.

And in the two previous postseason meetings the Eagles prevailed in big fashion with double-digit wins over the Cardinals.

But when it really mattered in a game that meant an end to the season for one team, the Cardinals found a way to battle back from the edge. Medical Lake rallied to win a 66-56 District 7 boys basketball game over the Eagles at West Valley High School last Saturday.

What was Medical Lake head coach Arnold Brown's message for his guys prior to the game? "I told them this was officially 'Senior Night,' and that it could be their last time together on the court," he wrote in an email. Brown also reminded them of what they've done over the past years as the team had assembled three 15-plus-win seasons, a solid accomplishment.

That sends the Cards on to regionals Friday, Feb. 26 against the LaSalle Lightning, at 8 p.m. at Eisenhower High in Yakima.

On Feb. 16 Medical Lake wilted in the second half of an opening round district match-up versus Lakeside, losing 73-49, making it do or die versus Newport on Feb. 19 in the double-elimination game. Medical Lake dispatched the Grizzlies 51-45.

Brown attributed the Cardinals wilting in their game Feb. 16 to simple exhaustion, the result, perhaps, of a schedule with four games in seven days.

"We just ran out of gas in the fourth quarter, we also had too many turnovers," he said. "The difference on Saturday, we made some adjustments defensively Trenten Garza guarded Cameron Gay and we were patience on offense, finally."

After trailing the entire first half, Garza's 3-point basket early in the third quarter added to an eventual 14-2 Medical Lake run that erased a 36-29 Lakeside lead in the second quarter.

"I always believe that unsung heroes emerge around this time," Brown said. "Trenten, Xavier (Butler), Joey (Jasmer), Skylar (Johnson), Cooper (James), Nizhole (Sherman), Damarius (Brown); all these guys will play factors in any given game for us."

Garza's score gave the Cardinals their first lead, 38-36 and Cory Wagner's basket made it a 43-38 contest. While the Eagles pulled to within 49-47, the Cards had mini runs of 6-0 and closed with an 8-0 run to seal it. Lakeside finished 17-7.

Cole Soliday would can four free throws - he went 4-for-5 at the line on the night - and Wagner added the last of his team-leading 18 points in the final two minutes. Jaelon Stith had 16 points and 15 rebounds for a double-double while, Donte Brown added 11 and Soliday nine.

And while Brown said he expects special moments from players not generally in the spotlight, it's his seniors who will dictate how far the Cardinals travel on the road to the 1A Hardwood Classic in Yakima, March 3–5.

"Donte, Cole, Cory, Jaelon, they must continue to do the bulk of our work for us to be successful," he said.

Soliday, a senior starter, sat on the bench to begin the second half as Brown saw something that concerned him. "I felt he was a little nervous the first half for some reason," Brown said. "I had a few words with him and it seemed to fire him up thus the explosion from him."

Gay's 3-point basket, part of a game-high 25 points and 19 first-half points, gave his Eagles their biggest lead at 24-17 in the opening moments of the second quarter. The Cardinals, however, began to chip away and start on the first of their runs with five straight points from Brown and a bucket from Wagner and trailed 27-24.

Baskets from Gunnar Swannack and Blayne Baerwald again pushed Lakeside's lead to seven at 36-29 before Medical Lake took charge. The Eagles led 38-36 at the half but were outscored 11-4 in the third quarter and 19-14 in the final eight minutes.

In their game for playoff survival Feb. 19, Stith scored 24 points on a stellar 10-for-12 shooting, plus recorded his first double-double of the week with 12 rebounds in the win over Newport.

The Cardinals used a 15-6 second quarter advantage to take a 24-18 halftime lead and were never challenged. Newport ended its season 14-9.

"I am very proud of these players, they are truly family and play for each other," Brown said.

Medical Lake, 18-7, comes into the contest with LaSalle, 17-5, a Catholic school located in Union Gap that has opted up from 1B and plays in the South Central Athletic Conference. Freeman 19-3 will host Naches Valley, 10-9 at University High Saturday.

Paul Delaney can be reached at pdelaney@cheneyfreepress.com.