KALAMA — Within the closing seconds towards King’s Means Christian, Kalama coach Wes Armstrong went to a technique he had by no means used earlier than — fouling with the lead.
“I have never done; I’ve always been chicken,” Armstrong mentioned. “But then (assistant coach Matthew) Poquette kind of got in my ear a little bit, and I said ‘OK, let’s give it a go.’ ”
The Chinooks had been main by three with 9.1 seconds to go. As a substitute of giving King’s Means an opportunity to shoot a tying 3-pointer, the Chinooks fouled.
King’s Means junior Patrick Carney hit the primary free throw with 5 seconds left, then deliberately missed the second.
However because the Chinooks had completed two earlier than on a missed free throw within the closing minute, Abel Koski pulled down the rebound to assist seal a 54-52 win over the Knights in a Trico League boys basketball recreation Thursday night time.
“It was pretty big,” Kalama senior Drew Schlangen mentioned. “Coming off that loss to Fort Vancouver (on Tuesday), that stung. But it was nice to pick up a win tonight.”
It was even nicer that the win got here with the Chinooks lacking two starters due to damage.
With that loss to Fort on Tuesday and dealing with first-place Seton Catholic on Saturday, the Chinooks had been trying on the sturdy chance of a three-loss week after King’s Means went on a 16-0 run within the first half to take 23-12 lead within the second quarter.
Trailing 28-21 at halftime, the Chinooks modified technique on protection at halftime.
“At halftime, we completely changed our defense,” senior Gavin McBride mentioned. “We did something we were working on in practice, brand new. We worked on it one day in practice, ran in well. We’re going to try it out today, and it worked out for us.”
Armstrong mentioned the Chinooks went from their conventional man-to-man protection to a matchup zone. It was slightly little bit of technique and slightly little bit of necessity.
Somewhat skinny on the bench, Kalama obtained right into a little bit of foul hassle within the first half.
“It’s kind of little bit of blind luck there,” Armstrong mentioned. “However that was one of many explanation why we need to go to our zone as a result of we obtained in foul hassle early. We wish to have the ability to defend ourselves as a result of Abel (Koski) and Drew (Schlangen) are simply large items of our system.
“But we also didn’t want to just sit there and take it on the chin. We wanted to be the aggressor.”
The protection shut down the Knights whereas McBride and Schlangen helped Kalama open the third quarter with a 9-0 run to take a 30-28 lead.
The sport was tight the remainder of the best way. Within the closing three minutes of the sport, there have been solely three made subject objectives by each groups — a 3-pointer by Schlangen that put Kalama up 51-46, and a 3-pointer by Jackson Lovato and a fast-break basket by Rathan King that helped King’s Means tie the sport 51-51 with 1:22 left.
From there, the sport was determined on the free-throw line. Schlangen hit a free throw with 40 seconds left to place Kalama up 52-51.
McBride made one other free throw with 17 seconds left to make 53-51. A missed free throw was rebounded by Koski, who added another free throw to make it 54-51.
After Kalama fouled the Knights late and Koski pulled down a defensive rebound, the junior had an opportunity to seal the win, however missed two free throws. King’s Means Christian obtained a half-court shot off on the buzzer, but it surely was off the mark.
Kalama made simply 3 of its final 10 free throw makes an attempt. Nevertheless, King’s Means Christian made simply two of its final eight from the road.
“We got to make our free throws,” Armstrong. “We didn’t hit our free throws down the stretch, which is upsetting. Both teams didn’t shoot very well from the line. But we got hit those shots, those freebies at the end. We make it a little bit less stressful.”
Koski led the Chinooks with 23 factors, whereas McBride had 14. Lovato had a game-high 25 factors for King’s Means, and Carney added 15.
It wasn’t simple for Kalama, however a win is a win. And victories within the Trico League this season received’t come simply.
“I just told the guys, it’s on to the next game,” Armstrong mentioned. “Turn the page. We can celebrate this one tonight, but tomorrow we’ve got to get to work in the gym after school and get ready for a really talented Seton Catholic team.”
KALAMA 54, KING’S WAY CHRISTIAN 52
KING’S WAY CHRISTIAN — Radley Matson-Blighton 0, Kaulin Butcher 2, Cooper Sprague 2, Daniel Flora Da Silva 0, Jackson Lovato 25, Patrick Carney 15, Rathan Kang 4, Reece Johnson 4, Jesse Hartsell 0. Totals 19 (4) 10-20 52.
KALAMA — Gavin McBride 14, Drew Schlangen 7, Quin Hahn 0, Abel Koski 23, Nolan Scott 0, Sylis Fobbs 0, Gabe Crawford 10. Totals 20 (3) 11-28 54.
King’s Means 13 15 9 15—52
Kalama 13 8 14 19—54