Medical Lake's Drew Hostetter was able to somehow get this acrobatic shot to fall against Okanogan in the Cardinals' win last Saturday.
See a photo gallery from the event here.
Medical Lake went on a 12-5 run over the game's final 3 minutes and earned a 62-51 win over Okanogan last Saturday afternoon.
The win over the Caribou Trail League Bulldogs in Medical Lake means the Cardinals advance to the regional bracket in the state 1A basketball tournament Saturday at Cheney High versus Hoquiam at 4 p.m.
Hoquiam plays in the Evergreen League and won the regular season title with a 7-1 record and are 14-7 overall. The game Saturday is a loser-out contest with the winner meeting the loser of a Saturday game between Northeast A League teams, Freeman and Newport, Wednesday, March 1 in Yakima.
The Cardinals (16-8) were forced into the loser-out game when they lost to Freeman 71-58 last Tuesday at West Valley High School in the district championship game.
On Saturday, Drew Hostetter scored eight consecutive points, had a blocked shot with 51 seconds to play, and tallied 12 points in the game.
"He found his confidence again," head coach Noel Hachtel said of the sophomore. "He played solid basketball when we needed him and that was in the fourth quarter."
Nizhole Sherman was also a huge catalyst, not only scoring a game-high 25 points, but a crucial basket that helped turn the game in the Cardinals' favor.
Jacquez Johnson had a 1 and 1 attempt with inside 4 minutes to play. His first shot was good but the second caromed off the rim, but luckily, right into the hands of Sherman who nailed a 15-foot jumper for a 47-43 Medical Lake lead.
After the visitors closed it to 47-46 on a 3-pointer, Hostetter returned the favor with an unchallenged 3 of his own. "Then it just started rolling downhill for them," Hachtel said.
After leading 5-0 at the start, Medical Lake saw Okanogan (11-13) roar back on a couple of occasions to tie. The Bulldogs never led in the game.
"We always let teams hang around and we find a way to pull it out at the end," Hachtel said. "Every team has a run in them and I knew Okanogan had a run in them," he added.
While scoring just three points, Joey Jasmer did a stellar job on the boards with 22 rebounds. That's the second most in school history in a game, the mark held by, Charlie Yankus who pulled down 28 versus Cheney on Jan. 14, 1975.
Xavier Warmink-Butler had 11 points for Medical Lake.
Tuesday versus Freeman, Medical Lake both started and finished slow. No. 1 ranked Freeman (21-1) had a 22-14 advantage in the first quarter, and then outscored the Cardinals 22-13 in the fourth.
Sherman had a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Butler added 14.
"With Freeman, I think of all the teams they've played, I think we always play them the best," Hachtel said.
And most every stat points to a win for Medical Lake. "We were 21 of 54 from field goal range, they were 21 of 51; from 3's we hit seven, they hit six," Hachtel said.
It was once again the free throw line that was the difference. "I know we are aggressive but I again find it real hard to believe that we were 9 for 11 and they were 23 of 28," Hachtel said.
Paul Delaney can be reached at pdelaney@cheneyfreepress.com.
See a photo gallery from the event here.
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