Slow starts took their toll on the Medical Lake boys basketball team last week as the Cardinals lost at Freeman 64-28 Jan. 10 and at home to Lakeside 60-29 Jan. 13 in Northeast A League play.
In each game the Cardinals found themselves in a deep hole to start and could not recover.
“(We) couldn’t keep pace with their size and athleticism early,” Cardinals’ head coach Jordan Starr wrote in an email regarding Freeman.
Against Freeman (6-0 NEA, 12-1 overall) Medical Lake trailed 24-5 after the first quarter and 43-9 at halftime. Mavrick Rasmussen’s nine points were tops for the Cardinals (1-4, 1-11) who lost for the third consecutive game.
“We calmed down second half and made a few shots,” Starr explained. “It was nice to see a positive halftime response against the top team in league,” he added as the Scotties had just a 21-19 edge in the final two quarters.
A Friday the 13th visit from Lakeside saw the Eagles race ahead 17-3 after one quarter and 29-11 at halftime. Rasmussen topped Cardinal scorers with eight points.
“We were getting stops on the defensive side, but just couldn’t score to gain some momentum,” said of the Lakeside game.
Most people gauge success by the won-lost numbers or the box score but Starr suggested, “The stats do not show the improvement of our team. We have a team full of guys that have really been working and improving.”
The Cardinals get another chance at improving their record as the second round of league play begins this week. Newport (2-4, 3-8) is at Medical Lake, Jan. 20 at 7:30 p.m. and the Cards travel to Riverside (0-6, 0-11) for a 7:30 p.m. tip Jan. 21.
Paul Delaney is a retired Free Press Publishing reporter and can be reached at [email protected].
Reader Comments(0)