Medical Lake boys earn split in games before break

 

Last updated 12/21/2017 at 1:43pm



By PAUL DELANEY

Staff Reporter

If there is anything that Medical Lake head boys basketball coach Noel Hachtel might want for Christmas that cannot be found at a store or online, it might be how to cure inconsistency.

That was what dogged his Cardinals last week in a split of Northeast A League contests that included a 72-47 win at home against Chewelah and a 49-44 road loss to Deer Park.

Medical Lake takes the Christmas break off with a 3-1 NEA record and are 4-3 overall. They were to have played Kellogg on Dec. 13 but the game was cancelled due to a scheduling problem with plans to try to fit it in sometime in early 2018.

Behind JJ Johnson’s 18 points, Medical Lake got last week started with a win over Chewelah (1-2 NEA, 2-2 overall). A 19-13 first quarter edge ended in a 37-23 halftime lead and there was never any doubt from there.

“We played great team basketball,” Hachtel wrote in an email. “We played full-court man defense the entire game and I believe that wore down Chewelah’s young guards.”


Nick Mason had 14 points and also added seven rebounds and five blocked shots. Derek Steege scored 13 and was the only other Cardinal in double figures.

The offensive effort harkened back to the idea of playing team basketball where sharing the ball led to points. Plus, Hachtel said, “We took great shots and we were confident in our abilities to make the shot we took.”

Medical Lake found a new high gear versus the Cougars. “Against Chewelah, we were able to get out quick on fast breaks and take advantage of our quickness, which we haven’t been effective with until then,” Hachtel added.


All was not as good Friday at Deer Park (2-1, 4-2) and it was easy for Hachtel to see. The Stags broke a 19-19 halftime tie on the strength of Isaac Berglund’s game-high 29 points.

“It was just another inconsistent night,” he said. “Our defense was there as a whole, but we couldn’t make a shot — even wide-open lay-ups weren’t falling.”

“I knew we were in for a fight when our shots weren’t dropping,” he added.

One player who did connect against the Stags was Skylar Johnson, who was the only Cardinal to crack double-digit scoring.

“Skylar is a difficult player to defend, he’s the main reason teams will sit in a zone against us,” Hachtel said. “He has improved week-to-week and I believe he will continue to dominate our guard heavy league,” with a 6-foot, 4-inch frame.


Cards’ Boxes

1 2 3 4 Total

Chewelah 13 10 13 11 47

Medical Lake 19 18 17 18 72

Medical Lake scoring: J.Johnson 18, Mason 14, Steege 13, Garza 9, Gollehon 9, S.Johnson 4, Kokesh 3, Main 2

1 2 3 4 Total

Medical Lake 8 11 12 13 44

Deer Park 11 8 14 16 49

Medical Lake scoring: S.Johnson 15, J.Johnson 9, Garza 9, Steege 8, Gollehon 3.

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

 

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