EVERETT — For the third time in 10 days, the Cascade boys basketball team and Kamiak squared off in a Wesco 4A battle.
And for the third time in a row, the Bruins came away victorious.
Cascade held off a late Kamiak rally on way to a 70-59 victory in Thursday’s 4A District 1 loser-out matchup, and will advance to Saturday’s second-place game where the winner will advance to the regional round of the state tournament.
“I thought our guys came out focused and they executed.” Cascade head coach Darrell McNeal said. “We exploited the areas that we needed to and it worked out for us. Real proud for our kids and the way they played tonight.”
After trailing by 18 to begin the fourth quarter, the Knights cut the deficit to eight late in the period, but the Bruins held on to avoid elimination and earn their second straight victory after losing at the buzzer against Jackson in Saturday’s semifinal.
Junior post Isaiah Gotell lead the Bruins with a game-high 29 points. Gotell scored 11 points in the first quarter to give the Bruins an early advantage and finished with 22 points through three as the Bruins built their lead.
Gotell has been playing his best basketball of late, scoring 18 in a victory over Mariner on Tuesday, 28 in the loss to Jackson, and 19 in the opening round of districts against the Knights.
“He’s one of the biggest guys on the floor so the fact that our guys noticed that and we adjusted our offense and got him the ball, it made it harder for Kamiak,” McNeal said. “We have shooters on the outside, but we were able to punish them on the inside. That’s been huge for us.”
The Bruins looked to be in trouble in the second quarter when senior point guard Brevin Brown was forced out of the game with three fouls with 5:55 to play and the Knights holding a 22-21 lead. But the Bruins responded without Brown, ending the half on a 15-7 run to take a 36-29 lead into the halftime break.
Sophomore guard Trevon Blackmon entered in place of Brown and scored four of his seven points during the run.
“That’s why you play the season games and you get those other guys ready to play,” McNeal said. “I didn’t have any reservations at all of bringing in Trevon or some of those other guys who come in a played those minutes for us.”
Brown returned in the third and scored nine of his 15 points in the quarter as the Bruins outscored Kamiak 20-9 in the period and built their lead to 18.
Freshman guard Carson Tuttle scored all of his team-high 15 points in the final period, including two 3-pointers, as the Knights made their run. Tuttle netted 10 straight Kamiak points to cut Cascade’s lead to 61-50 with 4:30 to play, and assisted junior post Gavin Patrick on the basket that cut the deficit to eight.
Patrick and fellow junior post Coleman Grayson added 13 and 10 points, respectively, for the Knights, who finish the year with a record of 11-12. Kamiak fell from second to fifth place in the Wesco 4A standings after losing its final five games of the regular season. The Knights dropped the playoff opener to Cascade, but avoided elimination by knocking off Snohomish 59-56 on Tuesday.
“I’m happy with the season,” Kamiak head coach Cory West said. “Obviously disappointed we didn’t go further. I want those kids to experience going further. … I’m happy my kids played hard the entire season. There has never been a game where we can say we didn’t play hard.”
At Everett Community College
Kamiak 15 14 9 21 —59
Cascade 19 17 20 14 —70
Kamiak—Christian Clausen 0, Carson Tuttle 15, Chance Lord 5, Jase Wiley 4, Trevor Gray 3, Marcell McQueen 0, Coleman Grayson 10, Hunter Watkins 0, Gavin Patrick 13, Andrew Foote 2, Keller Whitney 0, Nate Shubert 7. Cascade—Trevon Blackmon 7, Brevin Brown 15, Cameron McGrath 9, Isaiah Gotell 29, Brennen Hancock 8, Justin Gordon 2, Tre Poole 0. 3-point goals—Brown 1, McGrath 1, Tuttle 2, Lord 1. Records—Kamiak 11-12 overall. Cascade 14-10.
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