Cardinals are state tournament bound

The Cardiac Cardinals did it again.

Rallying from as much as a 10-point first-half deficit, Medical Lake took command in the second half of last Friday night's regional playoff basketball game at Eisenhower High School in Yakima and edged La Salle 55-51.

The victory put Medical Lake into the state 1A basketball tournament - starting today, March 3 - at the Yakima Sun Dome versus King's Way Christian of Vancouver, Wash. at 2 p.m.

Medical Lake, now 19-7, has found itself down in numerous games early. And their contest versus the Lightning was no different. They rallied from an early 12-2 deficit and trailed 20-13 after the first quarter. It wasn't until just three minutes remained that the Cardinals would take their first lead.

"They came out and made some shots," Cardinals head coach Arnold Brown said of La Salle from Union Gap. "When you start hitting shots the basket gets bigger."

Medical Lake fought back with a 16-13 edge in the second quarter and trailed at the half just 33-29. "We did our best to weather that storm, we just fought, fought, hung in there and chipped away."

Nizhole Sherman's breakaway fast-break slam-dunk in the second quarter was a huge momentum swing. And another bench player, Trenten Garza, also played an important part in keeping the wheels on the Cardinals, Brown said.

That set up their frantic fourth quarter rally and memorable finish. A 10-8 edge in the third quarter left La Salle up just two, 41-39 heading into the fourth.

"We just settled down and took good shots," Brown said of how things changed over the final eight minutes.

"They came out and hit a couple of shots and we kind of traded baskets," Brown said of the opening minutes of the final quarter. But La Salle hit just six field goals in the second half.

Donte Brown's three drew the Cards within two points at 49-47. Medical Lake never led until the 3-minute mark when Cory Wagner canned a 3-point shot from about six-feet back of the top of the arc to put ML up 50-49.

Another senior, Cooper James, hit another three that put Medical Lake up 53-49 with just over two minutes remaining. "That gave us the cushion we needed," Brown said. Cole Soliday free throws in the final minute added insurance.

Wagner led the Cardinals with 15 points and Jaelon Stith added 13.

La Salle, a private Catholic school that opted up from the 1B ranks, had all the weapons, Brown said.

"They had size and shooting," but the big thing he said was looking up and seeing a grandstand full of fans who had made the 200-mile, 3-plus hour one-way trip to Yakima and the Eisenhower High School Gym.

"It was really a home game for them," Brown said of La Salle.

Brown praised the district administration, including Superintendent Tim Ames and athletics director Chris Spring who authorized use of a couple of busses to send students to the game.

Looking ahead to the Kings Way Christian Knights, "This time of year everybody's good," Brown said. The Knights have won 15 straight, are 20-4 overall and were a perfect 12-0 in the Trico League.

Brown will not go out of his way to scout the opponent he said, instead putting the effort into helping his team deal with the moment of making it to the round of eight at state. "A lot of time you spend time looking at another team you forget how you got there," Brown said.

Five seniors make this an especially important time for Brown's team. "You don't get this very often so just ride it," he said. Thursday's winner meets either Zillah (23-1) or Kings (20-3) at 5:30 p.m. Friday.

In their last state finals appearance in 2005, Brown coached the Cardinals to the 2A 2005 state title in his third season on the job with a 44-41 win over Quincy.

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