By SCOTT SANDSBERRY
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC

It was a monster game, a marathon game, one of those push-me-pull-you affairs that have enough twists and turns for a network mini-series.

And the two teams who played that double-overtime thriller, Medical Lake and Cashmere, will meet in a 4 p.m. quarterfinal Thursday, a de facto rematch — albeit with some different faces — of the best game of the 2004 2A boys tournament.

“Fun game, very fun. Probably one of the most memorable games I’ve ever played in,” Cashmere junior Matt Caples recalled of his team’s 47-46 loss in that year-ago game. Speaking after his 17 points and 10 rebounds helped the Bulldogs (21-3) to a 71-58 opening-round victory over Vashon Island, Caples said that potential second-round matchup was something he and his teammates were looking forward to.

“That was something we noticed right-off when we saw the brackets,” he said. “We were hoping they’d win and we’d win.”

Medical Lake coach Arnold Brown did a double-take when he saw that, for the second year in a row, his Cardinals (19-4) might well be seeing Cashmere again. After watching junior guard Kevin Broadnax shoot 7-for-7 in the second half to lead the Cardinals past Connell 60-44, he reminisced about the last time the Cards and Bulldogs met.

“It was long, I remember that much,” Brown said of that game, in which Medical Lake blew a 13-point lead and, later, Cashmere blew a chance to win it in regulation.

“So much emotion went into that game. I know it drained my kids,” said Brown, whose team was upset the following night by East Valley. “That (Cashmere) is a tough team, well-coached, disciplined. I think we kind of coasted when we got the 13-point lead and kind of left the door open for them. And they just kept coming.”

So, on Wednesday, did Steven Gray. The 6-3 Chimacum sophomore lived up to his blossoming reputation as one of the state’s best players — in any classification — with a 36-point, 12-rebound performance in the Cowboys’ stunningly one-sided 66-44 victory over Southwest district champion Ridgefield.

That moves the Cowboys (17-7) into Thursday’s quarterfinals against Nooksack Valley (18-6), 49-35 victors over Forks, and creates an intriguing matchup: the tournament’s most prolific player against its craftiest coach. The Pioneers’ coach, Bill Kelly, has coached five state-title teams at two different schools, including Nooksack Valley in 2003. And his team played typical Kelly ball — making few turnovers (11), making their free throws (16 for 21) and making plays down the stretch (outscoring Forks 15-6 in the final
period).

Another quarterfinal is just as interesting: The 7:30 p.m. battle of Greyhounds, Pullman (18-6) against local favorite Grandview (22-2). Two of the tournament’s shorter teams, they both took care of business against difficult opponents on Wednesday.

Pullman snuck past Lynden Christian 46-43, with J.T. Levenseller scoring 20 points on 8-for-14 shooting.

Grandview, meanwhile, struggled to a 55-48 victory over a physical, tenacious Mount Baker squad, having to overcome their own 33 percent shooting on a night when all-league forward Chris Mejia was scoreless from the field.

“We didn’t shoot the ball well, obviously,” Greyhounds coach Scott Parrish said. “I was proud of the kids, though, for finding a way to get it done.”

So, too, did Medical Lake’s Broadnax, who at just 5-foot-8 used his explosive first step to drive for layup after layup past Connell’s interior tandem of 6-9 John Conrad and 6-7 Kris Knight.

“Yeah, he was going in among the trees,” Brown said of Broadnax, who finished with 22 points. “He’s got the ability to do that. It helped him last year just being in practice with our guys, because we were big, guys 6-6, 6-8.”

The Bulldogs certainly won’t miss those towering Medical Lake players of a year ago.

“I think we were a little intimidated last year, at least for the first half,” Matt Caples said. “I don’t think we’ll be as intimidated as last year.”

Intimidated or not, the Bulldogs stayed around until the end of the 2004 tourney’s greatest game.

“Yeah, too bad it wasn’t the championship game,” Caples said. He thought a bit, then added, “Actually, that would have made it worse.”