Cardinal boys hold off Sandpoint

SANDPOINT – The varsity boys’ basketball team from Medical Lake traveled to Sandpoint, Idaho on December 29 for a non-league game and held on late to win behind the offense of Oran Rhimer.

Rhimer led the scoring effort with 31 points on 12 baskets. Six of those were three pointers, and he converted a couple of free throws as well.

Eugene Haas III added to the total with ten points as well including a couple of key buckets he made late in the game.

The Cardinals started to falter a bit in the second quarter, and Sandpoint put a scoring run together and held an 11-point lead in the third. Medical Lake bounced back after a pair of threes dropped from Rhimer, and the Cardinals were battling to get the lead back.

It took most of the third for the team to find the lead again, but Sandpoint would edge themselves ahead 53-45 going into the final quarter.

Medical Lake had to increase the defensive pressure to create more opportunities for the offense, and that’s the gameplan that turned things around in the fourth. The Cardinals also had to be a bit more patient with passes and wait for open shots.

The Cardinals worked the score back up and trailed by a score of 55-57 when Zach Endreson drained a three-point shot to give them the lead. They held the lead from that point on due to controlling the ball well and making smart passes.

The boys’ varsity team improves to 4-5 on the year and will host the Stags from Deer Park on January 4.

SPOKANE VALLEY – The varsity girls’ team faced off against Colfax on December 30 during the tournament held at West Valley High School.

Medical Lake lost 58-28 to a high-powered Bulldog team, and the lady Cardinals didn’t score over nine points in a quarter during the game. Colfax put a lot of defensive pressure on Medical Lake making it difficult to find efficient open shots.

Asher Cai from Colfax also presented problems for the Cardinal defense, and she racked up 28 points with five three pointers on the night.

Medical Lake just couldn’t put together a defensive strategy to stop Cai.

Ten of the Cardinals’ points came from the free throw line showing Medical Lake was able to create some foul opportunities and fared well at the line shooting 10 of 16 from the free throw line. However, the offense really had a tough time pulling any runs together and only made eight baskets on the night.

Medical Lake drops to 5-3 on the year while Colfax improves to 7-1.

The Cardinals hope to bounce back from the loss when they host Deer Park on January 4.

Matthew can be reached at [email protected]