Medical Lake boys remain undefeated in Northeast A League play

The Medical Lake boy's basketball team improved its Northeast A League record to a perfect 3-0, and 5-1 overall last week.

The Cardinals wrapped NEA wins of 73-62 at Chewelah (Dec. 16) and 67-38 at home over Deer Park (Dec. 19) around an exciting buzzer-beating 3-point basket in a 67-65 nonleague win (Dec. 17) over previously unbeaten 2B Liberty in Spangle.

"We have a good early start so far with two road wins and one home win," Medical Lake head coach Arnold Brown said.

Medical Lake raced to a big 24-8 first quarter advantage last Tuesday against Chewelah (0-3 NEA, 1-6 overall) and led 46-20 at the half before withstanding a Cougar rally in the second half that made it close.

Cory Wagner paced the Cardinals with 27 points. Jaelon Stith added 20 and were the only Cardinals in double figures. Chase Frizzell scored 13 to lead Chewelah.

Wednesday night against the Liberty Lancers (4-0 SE B, 7-1 overall), senior Dylan Rushfeldt, a player known more for his defensive skills, launched a long 3-point shot with 2.5 seconds to play that proved to be the game winning points. Rushfeldt had just five points in the game.

After leading 43-40 at the half, the Cardinals trailed 56-53 heading into the final quarter where they outscored the Lancers 14-9. Tellas Johnson led the Cardinals with 18 points while Wagner added 17. Match Burnham led all scores in the game, pumping in 25 for Liberty.

Friday's contest at home against Deer Park (1-2, 3-5) offered more of a breather, especially when the Cardinals pulled away from a low-scoring first half where Medical Lake had just a 27-19 lead. The Cards put this one away by outscoring the Stags 30-5 in the third quarter.

Wagner and Johnson each scored 17 for the Cardinals. Deer Park's Nate Guske led all scores with 18.

The games concluded Medical Lake's pre-Christmas schedule. They have a Saturday, Jan. 3 contest at Rogers of the Greater Spokane League ahead. The Cardinals resume NEA play Tuesday, Jan. 6 hosting Colville.

"It will get tough now headed into January," Brown said. "We still need to improve on the defensive side of the ball."

Paul Delaney can be reached at [email protected].