Deutsch, Huston Lift Medical Lake To Win

Joe Deutsch put up the numbers to gain the headlines in Medical Lake’s 47-36 win over East Valley of Yakima in the opening round of the boys State A high school basketball tournament Wednesday in the Tacoma Dome.

The 6-foot-5 senior hit 9 of 13 shots from the floor and 6 of 10 from the line for 24 points. He grabbed 22 rebounds and slapped away six Red Devils shots.

It was Dan Huston, however, who may have put in the best game for the Cardinals. The 6-0 junior guard shut down Derek Tamez, East Valley’s leading scorer.

Despite giving away 4 inches to the East Valley forward, Huston smothered Tamez in the paint and out on the 3-point arch. Tamez, who averages more than 19 points per game, scored just nine.

“I thought Huston did a number on Tamez,” Medical Lake coach Dave Olzendam.

It seemed natural to put Deutsch on Tamez, but Olzedam opted for the quicker Huston.

“Tamez likes to go out and shoot the 3s. We wanted Joe in on the boards,” Olzendam said. “We tried to help out (Huston) as much as possible.”

Medical Lake may need more help from its bench because of Randy Moffatt’s sprained ankle. Although he put in nearly 24 minutes, Moffatt, a starting guard, was visably slowed by the ankle.

“His ankle doesn’t look all that good,” Olzendam said.

Moffatt averages almost 14 points per game, but hit for just six and missed all four of his 3-point tries against the Red Devils.

After East Valley closed within 34-26 early in the fourth quarter, Deutsch scored 10 of the Cardinals’ next 11 points as Medical Lake stretched its lead to 45-34.

“Every time the game gets close, everyone has to step it up,” Deutsch said. “It’s state. You can’t leave anything behind.”

The Cardinals (18-5) play Castle Rock (19-4) today at noon. The Red Devils (11-13) play Steilacoom (15-9) in a loser-out game.

Medical Lake 47, EV (Yak.) 36

East Valley 06 04 14 12 - 36

Medical Lake 12 10 12 13 - 47

EAST VALLEY (36) - Russell, Palmer 8, Tamez 9, Nunez 6, Case, Taylor 4, Ostrander, Backmen, Elliott 9, Hauver, Triggs, Zahn.

MEDICAL LAKE (47) - Bailey 3, Moffatt 6, Huston, J. Deutsch 24, Fishhaber 6, Verstrate 6, Simmons, Blum, Delp, Campbell, M. Deutsch, Cortez 2.

Chewelah 53, Zillah 44

For three quarters, Chewelah trailed Zillah, by as many as nine points and as few as two. Jeremy Landram brought the Cougars within 34-32 with 13 seconds left in the third quarter. He put them over the hump moments later with a free throw that gave the Chewelah a 35-34 advantage.

That was the start of 12-0 run, during which Greg Belzer hit a 3-pointer.

The Leopards did not score for nearly 4 minutes to begin the fourth quarter. By the time the run was over, the Cougars led 44-34 with 4:04 to go.

“We just decided we had to get that first rebound and not let them get that second shot,” said Landram, who scored 22. “We decided to play some defense and our offense caught up.”

Chewelah (18-8) plays Cashemere (19-4) today at 8 p.m. Zillah (19-5) faces River View (19-6) in a loser-out game tonight at 9:30 p.m.

Chewelah 10 13 9 21 - 53

Zillah 15 11 8 10 - 44

CHEWELAH (53) - Landram 22, Murbach, Boone 1, Belzer 18, Rainer 4, Skok 4, Rogers 4.

ZILLAH (44) - Hinson, Nelson 15, Busey 7, Jorgensen 15, Cr. Pentecost 6, Whitaker, Simmons, Cu. Pentecost, Delp 1.