Chiefs come back to defeat Issaquah, 76-71
Senior Dax Lindgren looks to make the pass in the second half against Issaquah on Friday night at Moses Lake High School.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Kyle Karstetter drives in the lane towards the basket on Friday night. The senior dropped 29 for the Chiefs in the win.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Moses Lake’s Kyle Karstetter dribbles up the floor on Friday night against Issaquah, the Chiefs’ final game of 2019.
MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake boys basketball came back to pull out the win in the end, defeating Issaquah 76-71 on Friday night.
The game remained neck-and-neck early on, with the Chiefs holding a slight advantage. The Eagles hit a late shot in the quarter to head into the second with the lead at 21-20. Issaquah looked for chances to pull away in the first half, but were unable to shake the home team.
The Eagles were able to hold onto a small lead going into the locker room at the break, at 36-33. Kyle Karstetter helped keep Moses Lake close in the half, pouring in 16 points with five rebounds.
The Eagles looked like they might pull away in the third, but the Chiefs managed to make a surge, outscoring their opponent in the quarter. Issaquah kept a small edge as the game headed into the fourth, at 54-53.
Big shots down the line from a number of Chiefs and another huge quarter from Karstetter helped Moses Lake finally pull ahead, holding off the Eagles for their second win of the season.
Karstetter finished with 29 points in the win, chipping in 12 rebounds and a pair of assists. Logan Sperline finished with 16 for Moses Lake, 10 coming in the second half. Sperline chipped in six boards as well.
Sophomore Marshall Tibbs dropped 15 points and four rebounds after picking up the start. Senior Dax Lindgren was the fourth Chief in double figures, finishing with 12 points and five boards.
Moses Lake head coach Jake Hunt said this was an important win for this team, with so many young players.
“I know, losing, coaches will say you learn from it,” Hunt said. “But, honestly, the only way to really reinforce that lesson is to win. Kids start to buy in more, and a lot of those little things, start to go away.”
The difference for his team in the win, Hunt said, was intensity, something the Moses Lake coach said his team didn’t match in their loss at Eastmont the previous weekend.
“We really emphasized the last couple of days, we’ve gotta match their intensity, we’ve gotta match their energy,” Hunt said. “That old cliche, you got punched in the lip. And we punched right back.”
Karstetter and Sperline are two players Hunt said he feels like are going to perform for the team all season, but the Chiefs coach said they need two more guys. Hunt said he felt Tibbs did a nice job in the win, while Lindgren is a player who the Moses Lake coach said continues to shoot the ball really well.
“Anytime we get four guys in double figures really gives us a great chance of success,” Hunt said.
Coming off the win, one thing he wants his players to take away is momentum, something the younger players can build off moving forward. Hunt said he continues to try and tell his players to just “stick with it” and good things will come.
Next up for Moses Lake is a trip to face Rogers (Spokane) on Friday, Jan. 3.
