Medical Lake Will State Its Case Cardinals Boys Have A Net Goal As They Head Off To A Tourney

Medical Lake boys basketball coach Dave Olzendam did a curious thing during Friday night’s Northeast District A championship win over Lakeside that sent the Cardinals to the WIAA/U.S. Bank State A Tournament this week in Tacoma.

With 22 seconds showing on the clock and the end of his bench mopping up a 71-48 romp over the Eagles at Mead, he huddled his starters on the sidelines.

Why?

“I can’t tell you,” Olzendam said at the time, “but we’re only cutting down one net if that gives you any idea.”

By contrast, the Lakeside girls team cut down BOTH nets in traditional fashion following their championship victory earlier that evening.

Sounds as if the Medical Lake boys have some unfinished business.

Medical Lake meets East Valley of Yakima, the No. 2 seed from the Yakima Valley League, at 9 a.m. Wednesday to open tournament play.

On paper, the Red Devils appear to be a good draw for the Cardinals.

EV’s 11-12 record jumps out immediately, and upon closer examination, its post players, who stand 6-foot-4, 6-2 and 6-2, appear to be a perfect match for the Cardinals’ Joe Deutsch (6-6), T.J. Fischhaber (6-4) and Dan Huston (6-0).

But Olzendam’s not sold.

“Everyone over there (at the state tournament) got there for a reason,” he cautioned. “You have to take it one at a time and see what happens. That’s all you can do.”

Olzendam knows that all too well.

After rattling off eight straight wins to open the season and land atop The Associated Press rankings, injuries hit the Cards, and they hit the skids.

Nothing serious, but several nagging hurts.

Huston missed games against Colfax, Lakeside and Riverside with a bad back. LeMar Bailey also missed the Lakeside game. And Randy Moffatt was injured and did not play against Kettle Falls.

“You are going to have your peaks and valleys throughout the year, but I think we have put together all the pieces,” Olzendam said.

The two corner pieces are Deutsch and Moffatt.

Deutsch repeated as a first-team All-NEA selection and grabbed Player of the Year honors while scoring in double figures in 15 of 16 regular-season games. He scored just nine points against Lakeside.

“He has been double- and tripleteamed the whole year,” Olzendam said. “But to his credit, he has been very unselfish. He has popped the ball back out and waits for what comes his way.”

As was the case in Friday’s win.

Deutsch had only five points at halftime, but handed out two assists. Still, the Cardinals led only 32-30.

But with the game on the line, Medical Lake turned to Deutsch, and he responded with eight points, another assist and numerous rebounds in the third quarter.

Meanwhile, Moffatt, another first team all-leaguer, steadily kept the Cardinals in the game. He scored 26 points - seven in the first quarter, eight in the second, nine in the third and two more in the fourth before the reserves took over.

“He’s been a real steady factor for us all year,” Olzendam said. “He was left open a bit more last year. He’s had to work harder for his points this year, but he has been patient and started penetrating to score more off the dribble.”

How the two seniors handle the pressure at state will be vital if the Cardinals hope to improve on last year’s seventh-place state finish.

“I thought we had a good team coming into the year, but they have stepped it up a notch all year long,” Olzendam said. “Winning districts was a major accomplishment because of how tough the league has been. It is a great honor in such a tough league.”

Case in point, Lakeside finished fourth in the league with a 10-6 mark, but knocked off regularseason champion Riverside in triple overtime to make the finals.

But the Eagles ran into Medical Lake and Chewelah, both teams on a roll, and went from a chance at first to also-ran in a matter of 24-hours.

Chewelah’s Cougars, led by firstteam All-NEA selection Jeremy Landrum (18.2 ppg) and secondteam All-NEA Greg Belzer (14.4 ppg), have their work cut out for them. The NEA’s No. 2 seed takes on sixth-ranked Zillah (19-4) in an 8 p.m. first-round game.

But coach Drew Landrum remains optimistic.

“The two teams for the Northeast A have as good a shot as any,” Landrum said. “You’ve got to play four games hard.”

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with story: State A boys Wednesday at the Tacoma Dome East Valley (Yakima) (11-12) vs. Medical Lake (17-5), 9 a.m. Chewelah (17-8) vs. Zillah (19-4), 8 p.m.