EVERETT — The Kamiak and Cascade boys basketball teams are getting quite familiar with each other. The two teams met in Monday’s regular-season finale and again in Thursday’s 4A district tournament opener.
The common thread: both were Cascade victories.
The Bruins defeated Kamiak 67-53 on Thursday, using a 13-0 run late in the fourth quarter to pull away and advance to Saturday’s district semifinals where they will face Jackson.
“Everybody was talking about how Jackson was down this year,” Cascade head coach Darrell McNeal said. “They didn’t look down to me. If you look at their record and what they did this year, it was a tremendous accomplishment. And in regards to (head coach) Steve (Johnson) over there, he does a great job. They’ve had all week to heal up and ice up and that’s what happens when you finish at the top of the league. We’ve got to come in and be ready to play. It’s going to be a barn burner. It’s going to be a battle.”
The Bruins should be used to battles, Thursday’s win over Kamiak could be described as nothing less.
Cascade led throughout the first half, but Kamiak charged back in the third quarter and took a lead going into the fourth. As the Knights made their run, the intensity throughout the gym picked up.
“(Kamiak head coach) Cory (West) and I go way back, so we’ve got our own little tradition and rivalry that we have,” McNeal said. “We make our guys get ready. It’s personal, but it’s a well-loved and enjoyable tradition that we have. We love playing each other and we love going after each other. It’s a lot of fun.”
Cascade began the game with a 7-0 run, but Kamiak answered with a 5-0 run to make the score 7-5 at the end of a low-scoring first quarter.
Things picked up from there.
Cascade outscored Kamiak 24-19 in the second to take a 31-24 lead at halftime. The Bruins led by as many as 14 in the quarter thanks to three consecutive 3-pointers by senior Brevin Brown.
Brown finished with 25 points to lead all scorers.
“He was fun to watch tonight,” McNeal said. “He’s a tough kid and he’s got a winning mentality. Brevin has been a shooter for the majority of the season. He’s feeling a lot better right now. No one knew he was just struggling for a while with his shot, but every time he shot it, it looked good. Tonight, it felt really good for him. It looked good and he was ready to catch and shoot.”
In the third quarter when Kamiak made its run, it was junior Isaiah Gotell that helped his team weather the storm.
Gotell scored six of his 19 points in the quarter and grabbed numerous rebounds.
“That’s big for us,” McNeal said. “If we can get Isaiah to rebound and play the way he did tonight, it takes us to the next level. He played under control and he played with composure. He got after it. That’s what we need him to do.
“He had a great game. I’m real proud of the way he played.”
Cascade took control again to start the fourth quarter. The Bruins extended their lead to six before a 3-pointer by Kamiak freshman Carson Tuttle cut their lead to three at 54-51. From that point the Bruins used a 13-0 run to put the game out of reach for the Knights.
Kamiak stays alive in the tournament, moving on to play a loser-out game next Tuesday against an opponent yet to be determined.
“We get right back at it,” West said. “We get right back and practice up and get ready for whoever we play, which I don’t even know yet. It doesn’t really matter. We’ve got to focus on us.”
At Cascade H.S.
Kamiak 5 19 15 10 —53
Cascade 7 24 12 23 —67
Kamiak—Christian Clausen 0, Carson Tuttle 11, Chance Lord 0, Jase Wiley 2, Trevor Gray 5, Marcel McQueen Jr. 6, Coleman Grayson 14, Hunter Watkins 0, Gavin Patrick 2, Andrew Foote 0, Keller Whitney 0, Nate Shubert 13. Cascade—Trevon Blackmon 6, Brevin Brown 25, Edis Hrustic 2, Cameron McGrath 3, Isaiah Gotell 19, Brennen Hancock 6, Justin Gordon 5, Tre Poole 1. 3-point goals—Kamiak: Tuttle 3; Cascade: Brown 4, McGrath 1. Records—Kamiak 10-11 overall. Cascade 12-9.
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