Medical Lake's tumble continues

The beginning of second trip through the Northeast A League basketball schedule was less kind than the first for the Medical Lake boys based on the most recent results.

The Cardinals saw their skid reach six games following Newport’s 57-50 win, Jan. 20 and a 61-42 Riverside win Jan. 21. The Cardinals earned their one and only victory, 55-44 over Riverside on Jan. 3.

“The turning point was in the second half when they out rebounded us,” head coach Jordan Starr said of the Newport (3-6 NEA, 4-10 overall) game. “We couldn’t stop them from getting second chance points and that was a big factor.”

Taylor Oliver had 16 points and Cody Petersen added 10 for the Cardinals (1-6, 1-13).

On the road at Riverside (3-4, 3-10) Mavrick Rasmussen had 13 points and Kaleb Cain eight but Medical Lake succumbed to the pressure defense from the Rams.

“We have to do a better job handling pressure and taking care of the ball,” Starr said.

That job began with a Jan. 24 game at Colville (3-4, 3-10) and continues with a visit from Royal (4-2, 6-9) of the South Central Athletic Conference on Jan. 26 at 7:30 p.m. for a non-league game. Deer Park is at ML Jan. 27 for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off to conclude the three-game in four night stretch of games.

Starr stressed the importance of this busy period. “We have to get another league win to be able to get into the district tournament.”

Paul Delaney is a retired Free Press Publishing reporter and can be reached at [email protected].