Medical Lake keeps pace with Lakeside, Riverside in NEA race
Medical Lake's Dylan Rushfeldt (5) battles with a Chewelah player in the the key during last Friday's 71-34 Cardinal victory in a Northeast A League game as a pass goes sailing by. Also in the photo are Medical Lake players Armondo Gomez (left) and Cole Soliday (12).
Medical Lake boy's basketball head coach Arnold Brown is hoping his team is peaking at the right time.
And last week's perfect 3-0 record might be the indicator he's looking for to further assure him. The Cardinals stayed in hot pursuit of the Northeast A League regular season title by winning their fourth game in five outings and improving to 7-2 in league play, 11-4 overall.
Foremost, the Cardinals collected a pair of NEA wins at home, 67-52 over Freeman last Tuesday and a 71-34 cruise over Chewelah Friday. They capped things off with a 57-44 nonleague victory at Omak.
"We got it done, we'll see how this week goes," Brown said. "We're week-to-week around here."
Five players scored in double-figures against Freeman (5-4 NEA, 7-8 overall). Donte Brown and Tellas Johnson each had 14 points while Jaelon Stith, Cole Soliday and Cory Wagner each scored 11.
"We did a good job of moving the ball," Brown said. "It was nice to have five guys in double figures and Freeman is no slouch team. We kind of got rolling a little bit and (our) defense was OK."
That carried over into Friday's Chewelah game, Brown said.
"Jaelon (Stith) and TJ (Johnson) took over that one," Brown said. Stith had a game-high 17 points and nine rebounds. Johnson recorded a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Being their final home game of the month, Brown said the team was hoping to make a statement. And they did, he said.
"It was nice to give everyone a taste of playing at home," Brown said. "At one point we had all five seniors on the court."
Medical Lake was hot from the start, outscoring the Cougars 18-7 in the opening quarter and led 43-19 at the break.
"Our D was a little better, it's getting better," Brown said.
A foggy trip to the Okanogan Valley Saturday paid off in a win against the winless Caribou League Pioneers (0-10).
Wagner went off for a game and season-high 22 points, including five 3-point baskets. "He had that rough week (losses to Lakeside and Riverside) and didn't shoot very well and was down in the dumps," Brown said. "It was nice for him to get his shot back."
Johnson, who scored 17 and added 12 rebounds for a double-double, had his most consistent week of the season.
"He's starting to be a little more consistent each night, about 15, 16, 17 (points) each night," Brown said. Stith's 11 points and nine rebounds left him just short of a double-double.
Brown likens his team and its recent success - they've won three straight and four of their last five - to an automobile.
"It's kind of like a car engine," Brown explained. "You gotta' have this to make that work and that to make this work."
The Cardinals hit the road this week with a game this past Tuesday at Deer Park (4-5, 6-9) and Friday meet Colville (1-8, 1-13) at 7:30 p.m.
Paul Delaney can be reached at [email protected].
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