1A/2A boys basketball: Medical Lake, Clarkston advance

YAKIMA – Medical Lake is back in the state basketball tournament for the first time in 11 years thanks to a lethal strike by the young man they call the Sidewinder.

Cory Wagner’s 3-pointer from deep in the right corner with 3:16 remaining in the game propelled the Cardinals past La Salle, 55-51, in a Friday night 1A state regional game at Eisenhower High School. Wagner had another 3-ball in the final period and finished with 15 points to lead Medical Lake scoring.

“I don’t care about the shot,” a smiling Wagner said afterward. “I care that we’re going back to state.”

The Cardinals (19-7) will be back in Yakima for state –for the first time since the 2004-05 team claimed the state championship – beginning Thursday at the Yakima Valley SunDome.

Wagner may not have cared, but the shot finally got Medical Lake a lead. The Cardinals defense made sure it stood up, holding La Salle to just one field goal in the final 4:41. The Lightning hit just 6 of 29 shots in the second half.

La Salle had Medical Lake looking for solutions early. The Lightning led 16-5 in the first period and 30-17 in the second period, making short work of the Cardinals’ zone defense.

But coach Arnold Brown switched to man-to-man in the second half and Medical Lake’s quickness stymied La Salle.

Brown said he told his players at halftime that they’d already taken LaSalle’s best shot and only trailed by four points.

“We were really pumped early but they hit everything,” Brown said, referring to LaSalle’s 9-of-14 shooting in the first period.

Wagner led a late second quarter surge that saw the Cardinals close a 13-point gap to four. The wiry senior guard had a 3-pointer and four free throws, the last of which came with 7.8 seconds remaining in the half.

An obviously fatigued La Salle team had just enough to keep Medical Lake at bay for the first 12 minutes of the second half but four 3-pointers in the fourth period were too much for the Lightning to take.

2A

Clarkston 76, Renton 47: Trevon Allen scored 25 points and Jett Sobotta added three 3-pointers and 21 points the Bantams advanced to the State 2A final eight with a 76-47 win over Renton (15-12) in Ellensburg.

The defending state champion Bantams (22-1) outscored Renton by 18 points in the second half.