1A/2A Prep Boys Basketball: Kalama pulls away from Woodland in opener
8-Mile War — 'Nooks ride balanced scoring to 51-42 win over Beavers
Drew Lawson for Blast Zone Media
KALAMA — While just eight miles separate the geographic rivals from Kalama and Woodland, the visiting Beavers found themselves with a hill to climb...both in navigating to Tuesday’s season-opening game, and in the fourth quarter of said contest.
In the end, Woodland fell one hill short, with the hometown Chinooks securing a season-opening victory by a score of 51-42.
“I was proud of the way our guys played in the fourth,” Kalama coach Wes Armstrong said. “We played to win rather than playing not to lose.”
The first three quarters indicated the game could come down to the final shot, but Kalama’s Gavin McBride and Abel Koski had other ideas.
After Woodland scored five straight points midway through the fourth quarter to take a 37-36 lead, McBride stroked a deep shot from way downtown. McBride and Koski then picked off Woodland passes on back-to-back possessions and finished with layups to give Kalama a 45-37 advantage.
Four more points from McBride and Kalama had an 11-point lead in a game where neither team could mount more than a four point advantage through the first three and a half quarters of action.
McBride finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds and a pair of assists to lead the Chinooks.
“It felt great getting back out on the court after a long break,” McBride said. “We have things to work on, but we came out with a lot of effort and it was fun. Super fun.”
The first half was tighter than the entrance to the metal gate welcoming fans into the Virgil Simmons Court in Kalama. Early season jitters likely contributed to the slugfest, as both coaches were left to rue missed layups that should be automatic by late January.
“Our guys played hard, we just didn’t shoot well,” Woodland coach Justin Gabbard noted.
And when you can’t connect from close range, the only logical thing to do is step back a bit and keeping firing away.
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