Moses Lake Basketball Is a Sleeper Team

The Moses Lake Basketball Program (10-9) is amidst their sixth straight winning season, although simply having a winning season is not good enough for this group.

In a Big Nine Conference that has been dominated by teams like Davis and Wenatchee over the years, Moses Lake hasn’t seen a league title in over 15 years.

Team captain Cory Kunjara believes this is the year they can change that fate.

”Our hard work should pay off in the end,” Kunjara said. “It’d mean a lot for our coach (John Hohman) who’s been around for a long time.”

John Hohman has been in charge of Moses Lake Basketball since 2010, and right now he’s getting the most out of an ailing Chiefs roster.

The most notable loss has been All-Conference level performer Michael Byers. The 6-5 senior forward was projected to do it all for the Chiefs this year; Including potentially leading in points and rebounds.

But he’s been out for the entire season with a lung injury, and his return date is still week to week.

Stepping up in his absence have been veteran players like Evan Mclean, Cory Kunjara, Dax Lindgren, Logan Sperline,  Kendyl Crum and Kyle Karstetter.

Several of these players are multi-year starters, and the Chiefs will need to squeeze every ounce of efficiency out of them down the stretch.

Mclean is a top 10 scorer in the league, and is most known for his ability to hit shots anywhere on the floor.

Kunjara is now in his third year as Moses Lake’s workhorse point guard, and he could essentially operate the offense in his sleep now.

Perhaps the player that has stepped up the most this year however has been junior Kyle Karstetter. His 6-6 presence in the low post has kept Moses Lake in countless games.

Looking at the Big Nine standings right now, the Chiefs are all by themselves in third place. The two teams ahead of them are Wenatchee (13-4) and West Valley (11-6).

The good news is Moses Lake faces both those teams in their final two games, giving them a chance to at least vault themselves into second place.

Mclean is fully aware however that this is going to be a difficult task.

“Wenatchee and West Valley are both tough places to win,” Mclean said. “We get a chance to go on the road to Wenatchee and host West Valley, so it’ll be a good test.”

This is a tight knit group that’s been playing together since they were all in third grade, so the chemistry is absolutely there to create a hot stretch.

Karstetter knows exactly what Moses Lake needs to do better at as the postseason draws nearer.

“We need to keep improving on our scoring,” Karstetter said. “That will lead to more wins.”

Given the experience on this roster, combined with quality coaching, and Moses Lake is going to be far from an easy out in February.

Your next chance to catch the Chiefs will be in Moses Lake on February 1st against West Valley. They will then wrap up the regular season on February 8th against Wenatchee.