“It’s said by psychologists and coaches alike that athletes can enter a ‘zone’ while in the heat of a game. An athlete can become so focused on the basket, wide receiver or strike zone, for example, that everything else around them fades to a faint blur. Cascade junior Jamichael Bailey entered that zone during the second quarter of Friday’s game against Oak Harbor as he missed just two shots and scored 17 points to bury the Cats. Oak Harbor could not dig itself out from a 31-point deficit, despite scoring 27 points during the fourth, as the ‘Cats were beat by Cascade Friday 70-58.The guys came out and stepped up well during the fourth and the other team just quit, said senior Chad Riepma. I guess they thought they had us.The Wildcats started out playing toe-to-toe with the 10-2 Bruins during the first quarter, as the period ended with Oak Harbor only down by two, 14-12. We just battled, said Riepma, who led the Cats with 11 points for the game despite missing the fourth. I just got the garbage points that bounced off the rim and put ’em back in.During the opening of the second period the Cats’ size disparity was evident when they failed to get the ball inbounds twice and had trouble on three other occasions. But against a team that averaged almost three inches taller, Oak Harbor’s problems with height were few and far between for the rest of the game. Cascade’s Bailey, who scored all of his points for the game during the quarter, looked as if he could not miss during the second period. When a guy gets the hot hand its tough to stop, said Riepma. We tried to fix it but he just kept making them.Bailey put the exclamation point on the quarter as he went coast-to-coast after stealing the ball and threw down a two fisted dunk that brought an awwe from the crowd. Bailey’s scoring outburst sent the Cats into the lockeroom at the half dejected and way behind, 40-21.Well we didn’t expect him to come out like that, said sophomore Dwight Gooding. We were worried about (Matt) Konsmo and he stepped it up for them and I give him credit for that. During the shoot-around after the half, with heads hung low and shot after shot hitting the rim and bouncing away, it was evident that the ‘Cats were not optimistic about the remainder of the game. A slump during the opening minutes of the third hurt Oak Harbor’s chances of a comeback as they turned the ball over five consecutive times despite staying right with the Bruins on the scoreboard. After stealing the ball, Oak Harbor sophomore Grant Bull went hard to the basket for the layin but was called for the charge. It seemed as if the Wildcats could not get anything to go their way. Bull scored a game-high 10 points for the Wildcats. Oak Harbor would not quit during the fourth. Led by guards Gooding and senior Tony Hall, the Cats mounted a comeback as they went on a 25-5 run on the Bruins. I guess that the people who wanted to get into the game felt like the had to step it up and show the coach that they are ready for playing time, said Gooding. I like the way that (senior) Jon Unpingco played. He gave me inspiration to play.Oak Harbor junior Will Thayer and Gooding led the Cats in scoring during the final period as they put in 7 points, while Unpingco scored 5.Cascade 70, Oak Harbor 58 Cascade 14 26 17 13 – 70 Oak Harbor 12 9 10 27 – 58 Cascade: Bailey 17, Hansen 12, Miller 3, Johnson 8, Curtis 5, Diers 3, Konsmo 9, Skoor 2, Hill 11. Oak Harbor: Frost 2, Reipma 11, Thayer 10, Brown 7, Fulgham 1, Bull 10, Unpinco 2, Hall 6, Gooding 9. 3-point goals: Bailey 3, Hansen 2, Johnson 2, Konsmo 1. JV: Cascade def. Oak Harbor. Records: Cascade 8-2 in league, 10-6 overall. Oak Harbor 1-9, 3-13. “