Cardinals Fall Short In A Final
In preparation for Saturday night’s boys State A championship against Medical Lake, the Cashmere Bulldogs spent several hours reviewing film.
Not just any film, but the tape of the 1986 title game, when Cashmere won its last state crown. Good vibes, the Mustangs reasoned, and they were right.
Cashmere picked up where the ‘86 team left off, scoring the game’s first 15 points Saturday night and answering every Medical Lake challenge for a 69-59 triumph in the Tacoma Dome.
The keys for Cashmere were simple enough - jump on ML early, blanket Cardinals post Joe Deutsch and let its passing game pick the defense apart. Making 17 of 21 fourth-quarter free throws didn’t hurt, either.
“I was 17 for 21?” wondered Bulldogs guard Jake Kerns, if only for a moment.
Sorry, Jake. While Kerns scored five of his game-high 22 points in the fourth quarter, it was little-used guard Mike Harnden who who hit 7 of 8 foul shots in the final 8 minutes.
It was a difficult loss for the Cardinals, winners of 10 straight coming in, made only slightly easier to take in light of Cashmere’s stunning performance.
“To be down 15-0 like we were,” ML coach Dave Olzendam said, “and to come back like that - we never quit all year.
“We still had chances (after falling behind).”
“They were ready to play,” conceded Cardinals center T.J. Fischhaber, who hit 3 of 4 field goals but, like Deutsch, fell victim to Cashmere’s 2-3 zone. “I don’t know if we were a little shell-shocked. Cashmere is a great team.”
The Bulldogs couldn’t miss early. Adam Kerns nailed a 3-pointer before most of the crowd was seated. Jordan Green added five straight points, including a 3 that made it 8-0 just 2:49 into the contest.
Olzendam called timeout, but nothing could slow Cashmere’s flurry. Adam Kerns buried another 3, and followed Green’s layup off a steal with a putback. It was 15-0, and 3:55 remained in the opening quarter.
“I couldn’t believe it,’ said Jake Kerns, a freshman. “It was all on emotion.”
Dan Huston’s 3 at 3:32 finally put Medical Lake on the board, although Jake Kerns would make it 19-3 with two free throws and a layup off a heads-up assist from brother Adam, who was falling out of bounds as he rifled the onehanded pass on target.
“They played great,” Deutsch offered. “There’s not much to say. We got second place.”
Medical Lake pulled within six, 39-33, late the third quarter. But Deutsch and Huston missed gimmes underneath, although Deutsch’s first field goal followed by two Huston free throws would bring the Cardinals within 44-39 early in the fourth.
That’s when Cashmere pulled away. scoring the next eight. Kerns and Harnden combined for five straight free throws, and Nik Pflugrath closed the door with a three-point play, scoring despite a hard foul from Fischhaber.
Trailing 52-39 with 5:30 to play, the Cardinals were forced to take all-or-nothing gambles on defense. The Bulldogs made them pay, remaining patient and making the extra pass for easy layups. Lemar Bailey provided ML’s last hope, converting a four-point play to get within 65-59 with a minute left.
“With that four-point play, we still had chances,” Olzendam said. “A couple rebounds here or a couple of made shots …”
Medical Lake 12 10 13 24 - 59 Cashmere 19 12 13 25 - 69
MEDICAL LAKE (59) - Bailey 9, Moffatt 6, Huston 16, J. Deutsch 16, Fischhaber 6, Verstrate, Simmons 6, Blum, Delp, Campbell, M. Deutsch, Cortez.
CASHMERE (69) - J. Kerns 22, A. Kerns 15, Green 14, Pflugrath 7, White, ansen, Voelker 4, Larson, Harnden 7, Crossland, Getchman.