Moffatt Sends Medical Lake Into A Semis

Randy Moffatt is the ultimate team player, says Medical Lake coach Dave Olzendam. Someone, Olzendam said, who waits for his turn to shine.

Moffatt waited until the last possible moment Wednesday, sinking an NBA-range 3-pointer to give the Cardinals a 66-63 overtime victory over Castle Rock in the quarterfinals of the WIAA/U.S. Bank State A high school boys basketball championships in the Tacoma Dome.

Medical Lake (19-5) faces Cascade of Leavenworth (21-6) at 6:30 p.m. today in the semifinals.

Cascade whipped Blaine 77-49.

ML’s Northeast A League rival Chewelah wasn’t as fortunate. The Cougars (18-9) lost 75-48 to Cashmere (20-4) and plays a loser-out game against Port Townsend (19-6) at 3 p.m. today.

“That’s what high school basketball is all about,” Medical Lake’s Olzendam said. “I’m elated.”

Castle Rock won its first game on a last-second shot, but Medical Lake had the last shot this night.

With 4.4 seconds left, Moffatt received the inbounds pass a few steps outside the NBA 3-point arch. The 5-foot-11 senior guard dribbled and measured his shot. There was no time for another pass or even the thought of one.

“I was just looking to take him,” Moffatt said of his single coverage.

With just over a second left, he let fly. “It just seemed to stay up there,” Moffatt said. “It was up there forever.” When it finally came down, the horn sounded and the Cardinals were victorious.

“It felt so good,” Moffatt said. “I was jumping as high as I’d ever jumped before.”

His teammates joined him in a mass celebration in the middle of the floor.

Moffatt’s game-winning trey gave him 14 points for the game. Joe Deutsch topped the Cardinals with 20. TJ Fischhaber added 15 and Dan Huston had 14. Deutsch and Fischhaber led Medical Lake in rebounding with 14 and 12, respectively.

Olzendam said he appreciated the win, but more, the way his team came back.

Medical Lake led early, but trailed the entire second and third quarters and most of the fourth. The Cardinals didn’t regain the lead until Huston’s layin off a dish from Fischhaber, which put them up 54-53 with 1 minute, 10 seconds remaining in the game.

Moffatt then hit the front end of a oneand-one with 21 seconds left to cap a 14-2 that and put Medical Lake up 55-53.

Both teams had chances to win it in the final seconds of regulation.

Castle Rock forward Bob Lowe, who finished with 21 points, tied the game on a short jumper and was fouled by Deutsch with 8 seconds left in the fourth quarter. His freethrow attempt rimmed off.

Medical Lake took the rebound and, with two quick passes, Fischhaber put up a layin with a second left. The ball hung perilously on the rim before falling off as time expired.

The Cardinals also hurt themselves at the foul line, connecting on just 22 of 40. They made just 11 of 22 in the second half.

It was a missed Castle Rock free throw in the opening moments of overtime that gave Medical Lake the edge, however.

It allowed a short jumper by Fischhaber to give the Cards a 57-55 lead with 3:20 to play.

“We really had it won at the end of the game and we were a little down,” Olzendam said, referring to the missed layin. “I think it was important for us to get that lead.”

Bowe quickly tied the game for the Rockets. Three more times the Cardinals went up by two, and three more times Castle Rock answered. There was no time, however, to answer Moffatt’s buzzer-beating 3.

Medical Lake 66, Castle Rock 63 Medical Lake 15 15 8 17 11 -66 Castle Rock 19 17 10 9 8 -63

MEDICAL LAKE Bailey, Moffatt 14, Duston 14, J. Deutsch 20, Fischhaber 15, Verstrate 1, Simmons 2.

CASTLE ROCK Tastad 2, N. Kandoll 6, Mitchell 22, Lowe 21, Auckland 10, Keatley, Reeder 2.

Cashmere 75, Chewelah 48

The Cougars (18-9) trailed by just three at the half, but fell back by 13 less that 5 minutes into the third quarter.

Jordan Green led the Bulldogs’ charge with three 3-pointers in the opening minutes of the second half. He scored a game-high 26 points, 18 more than his average, including five 3’s.

“They just gave me the ball in the open and they went in,” Green said. “It’s a team thing. We work it until we get an open shot.”

Cashmere finished 23 of 45 from the field. Chewelah made 18 of 45 shots.

Once the Bulldogs built a lead, the Cougars drifted away from their offensive plan.

“We weren’t disciplined,” Chewelah coach Drew Landram said. “We started to freelance.”

In a futile comeback attempt, Chewelah made just 1 of 10 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.

Jeremy Landram led the Cougars with 19.

Chewelah 13 13 16 06 48 Cashmere 12 17 25 21 75

CHEWELAH Je. Landram 19, Murbach 2, Boone 4, Belzer 11, Rainer 6, Wissink 0, Skok 4, Keeley 0, Ja. Landram 1, Wymer 1, Rogers 0.

CASHMERE J. Kerns 14, A. Kerns 14, Green 26, Pflugrath 4, White 11, Hansen 1, Voelker 3, Larson 0, Harnden 0, Henning 0, Crossland 0, Gretchmann 2.