Kodiaks play a competitive game against league champs

The season has come to an end for the Cascade Kodiak boys’ basketball team, short of the postseason. In fact, Cascade managed just one win in the Caribou Trail League. Cascade played perhaps their best game of the season against Okanogan last Friday.
Okanogan, which won the league title, led 19-10 in the first quarter. The Bulldogs opened up a 16 point lead in the second quarter but the Kodiaks were able to rally behind 3’s by seniors Dillon Samuel and Jose Mendoza. The Bulldogs led 38-26 at half. Cascade cut the lead to six midway through the third quarter behind a Hans Schlyer three, 40-34. The Kodiaks won the quarter 12-8, but trailed 46-38.
In the fourth quarter, Cascade kept fighting, cutting the lead to two points at 49-47, but every time the Kodiaks would draw close, Okanogan would rally. After a Schlyer bucket cut the lead to 51-49 with under three minutes remaining, the Bulldogs rallied for eight points to lead 59-49 with 1:29 to go.
Samuel hit a shot to cut the lead to 59-52, then Mendoza hit a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 59-54. Then, Samuel scored on a fast break to cut the lead to 59-56 with 50 second to go. Okanogan turned it over.
Cascade had a chance to tie with a three with 21 seconds left. Schlyer drove then passed to wide open Isaac Cortes for a three shot, but he missed. The Bulldogs hit free throws in the final seconds to ice it, winning 62-56.
“It was a great game, great atmosphere. Those two seniors played their tails off tonight, Samuel with 21 and Mendoza with 18. They just played unbelievable and carried us tonight,” said Cascade Head Coach Paul Fraker. “We were forcing them to take some awkward shots. They did get a lot of offensive rebounds, but we got our share of defensive rebounds. We made them earn it tonight. We held them to 62 points. They are a high scoring team.”
Okanogan had won handily in previous games against Cascade. Fraker said they just showed up to play.
“Those seniors were really aggressive to the basket. I thought we pushed the ball really well, trying to get some transition points. That helped us,” Fraker said. “We were down 17 in the second quarter, then went on a 5-0 run. I told the first few minutes of the third quarter was crucial. We outscored them 12-8 in the quarter which was huge to get us in the game. Then we outscored them by 2 in the fourth.”
Cascade finished the season 1-11 in the Caribou Trail League and 5-15 overall. Okanogan and Omak finished 9-3, Cashmere 8-4, Chelan 3-9.
“It’s unfortunate it took us so long to get here, but we’re playing well. That team has beat us up the previous two times. For us to come out before that crowd and really play inspired basketball on both ends was very rewarding. I’m real proud of the guys tonight,” Fraker said.
Fraker said he’ll do a lot of reflecting the next couple weeks, putting a plan together for summer.
“As a coach, you move everybody up the depth chart and see where you’re at moving forward,” Fraker said. “I saw a lot of good things. We were young, starting a sophomore and two freshmen. Only having two seniors on the team. I wish we could have turned it around sooner. Maybe we could have got into the district tournament. We came up short. That was our goal this year. Real proud of how we ended the season, trending up, in my opinion.”
How does Cascade take the next step?
“Guys have to commit to off season work, which these guys don’t have a problem doing. Been laying foundation here for a couple years. We’re losing two major players, important guards who take care of the ball. They’ll be big shoes to fill,” Fraker said. “Our front line will have experience. I think those guys will grow a little bit, so we should have some height. We need to have our guards step up and fill the void. Some guys from JV will have to come up and make some plays. Really looking forward to it.”
Ian Dunn can be reached at 548-5286 or editor@leavenworthecho.com.