1/16/25

Castle Rock 58, Kalama 49

(Kalama, WA) With the top four teams from the Trico 1A Conference reaching the district 4 boys basketball tournament, Thursday night’s matchup was a very crucial one for both the Castle Rock Rockets and the Kalama Chinooks. The game marked the end of the first half of league play for both teams but more importantly it would break the tie between the two schools for that coveted fourth place. A renewed rivalry was once again a league game as the two schools met for a league game for the first time since the 2015-16 season.

Both teams were slow out of the gate on offense as the frantic pace seemed to be too fast for both sides. Neither team could buy a three despite some very good looks. Abel Koski’s standout defense began to lead to some points from Kalama as he began to get to the free throw line out of transition play. Castle Rock also found some success with Owen Keatley getting going in the paint. By the time the 1st quarter came to an end, it was Kalama with a slim 13-12 lead.

In the 2nd, Keatley really began to take over for the Rockets down low. However, the Rockets got in a little bit of foul trouble and continued to send the Chinooks to the free throw line. Kalama’s free throw shooting wasn’t spectacular but those 1-2 trips began to add up. Kalama also got a couple of threes as Gavin McBride and Drew Schlangen each got one to go. It was still a tight game at halftime but it was still Kalama out in front with a 27-24 lead.

Everything changed in the 3rd quarter. Kalama really struggled to score and it was the Chinooks getting in some foul trouble while also not cashing in on their trips to the line. Turnovers also began to haunt the Chinooks ass Castle Rock took over. Coming off the bench for Owen Keatley who was in foul trouble, Colton Warren put his stamp on this game with some easy buckets. The Rockets saw that he was the hot hand and continued to feed him down in the paint. Warren put up 10 points in the 3rd while Trevor Rogen got to the charity stripe very often as well. Castle Rock ended up outscoring Kalama in the 3rd quarter 23-9 and took a 47-36 lead int0 the 4th.

As Kalama continued to try to find success from behind the arc, Castle Rock continued to just get to the free throw line as often as they could. Gavin McBride did help Kalama cut the deficit way down but the Rockets were too good from the free throw line. Castle Rock ended up going 20-28 from the charity stripe while Kalama went 15-26 from the line. To go along with the oddity of 54 free throws being shot in the game, only two threes total were hit which is wild for this era of basketball. Castle Rock’s free throw shooting iced it down the stretch as the Rockets secured the comeback win and actually moved into 3rd place in the Trico 1A with a 58-49 win.

Our Thorbeckes MVP of the game went to Colton Warren for Castle Rock. The 6’5 sophomore came off the bench for the Rockets and after having a quiet first half had to step up with Owen Keatley in some foul trouble in the 3rd. Warren scored 10 points in the 3rd quarter comeback for Castle Rock and also was one responsible for putting a stop to Kalama’s offensive rebounding success. Warren ended up with 12 points for the game but his red-hot 3rd quarter ignited the Rockets comeback win.

The win moves Castle Rock to 8-4 overall on the season and 4-3 in Trico 1A league play. The Rockets will hit the road for a massive showdown with La Center on Saturday at 7pm. Kalama drops to 7-5 and 3-4 in league play as the second leg of Trico play begins. Kalama will look to bounce back at home on Saturday at 1:30pm when they host Stevenson.

Scoring

Castle Rock: Owen Keatley 12, Colton Warren 12, Trevor Rogen 11, Jacob Lafever 9, Riley Graunitz 8, Joseph Burks 5, Aiden Mead 1

Kalama: Gavin McBride 13, Abel Koski 12, Drew Schlangen 11, Quin Hahn 10, Gabe Crawford 2, Nolan Scott 1

Link to watch full game replay on the NFHS Network (subscription required)

ESN Postgame Show

Highlights

Castle Rock 6-0 Run Ties it

Schlangen Three Gives Kalama Halftime Lead

Warren Leads Castle Rock Comeback

elisportsnetwork.com