By Tyler Hergert
On Tuesday night, the Kelso Hilanders (2-2) hosted the Black Hills Wolves (1-2) for a non-league game. Kelso was coming off of a tough loss against Rogers on Saturday where they had 26 turnovers but did have a nice win the night before over Emerald Ridge. The Wolves were coming off a big win over Aberdeen in a 2A EVCO matchup.
In the first quarter, there was a lid on the basket as both teams were struggling to score early. Johnnie Stallings for Black Hills had a nice basket early and converted on two free throws while Simon Nestad had a nice runner in the lane and a late three to keep give the Wolves a 12-7 lead after the first quarter. Michael Henderson for Kelso had a buzzer-beating three to bring Kelso within five and that momentum would carry with the Hilanders into the second quarter.
Kelso started the second quarter on an 8-2 run to take a one-point lead at 15-14 and forced Black Hills to call their first timeout of the game. Hayden Yore had a three that put Kelso up 20-14 and their run grew to 13-2. Both teams were getting into foul trouble late in the second quarter but the free throws weren’t falling for either team yet as both sides entered the bonus. Black Hills found a little offense late but Kelso would take a 25-18 lead at the half after a very dominant second quarter.
In the third quarter, both teams struggled to find points as Blake Eastham had two baskets for Kelso and a couple of blocks on defense as well. Keagan Rongen was able to finally score for Black Hills with almost three minutes left in the third. Both defenses played spectacularly all night but in the final few minutes of the third quarter, the offenses for both sides started to warm up. Hilanders big man, Payton Stewart was a big help on the glass for Kelso as at the end of the third quarter had a layup after a few missed chances right before the buzzer sounded to give Kelso a 35-26 lead after three.
In the fourth quarter, the fouls were called early and often but Kelso found their rhythm from the free throw line making three free throws to give themselves a 12-point lead early in the fourth, their biggest lead of the night at that point. Stallings and Nystad helped lead the Wolves down the comeback trail as they closed the Hilanders lead down to a four-point game (42-38) with a few minutes left. The three-point shot was not Black Hills’s friend Tuesday night as they were unable to make three’s all game long. Kelso’s defense was stopping Black Hills after they closed the gap and the Hilanders free throw shooting in the final period helped their lead balloon back up to double digits.
When it was all set and done, Kelso won 58-44 but the game was much closer than the final tally. Black Hills had to foul late which helped Kelso get some points at the end but the Wolves fought very hard against the reigning 3A GSHL champs and put up a tough battle on the road. Kelso improved to 3-2 on the season while Black Hills fell to 1-3.
Kelso plays Mountain View on the road on Thursday while Black Hills plays tonight against Shelton.
You can watch the entire match on the NFHS Network on-demand. Subscriptions are $11.99 per month and gives you access to the entire NFHS Network all across the country to watch the live broadcasts or any on-demand games. Go to https://www.nfhsnetwork.
