ROCHESTER — With two and a half minutes remaining in its game against Tenino on Thursday, Rochester appeared on the brink of another loss. The Warriors entered the game winless in 13 previous attempts, and despite holding the Beavers scoreless in the first quarter, they were trailing by four deep into the fourth quarter.
With 2:22 to play, Clayton Knutson hit a three-pointer to get within one, and before the crowd finished cheering, Knutson found the ball in his hands again beyond the arc.
He drilled his second three-pointer in 10 seconds, giving the Warriors the lead.
“Clayton Knutson, that’s the best game he’s played,” Rochester coach Caleb Sells said. “Those two threes, my goodness, just a momentum swing … Our season needed it. We didn’t just need it just for the game. We needed it for the season.”
Knutson also got a hand on Tenino’s final inbound in the final seconds, preserving the Rochester lead and sealing a 48-46 victory.
The win snaps the Warriors’ 13-game losing streak and is their first since Feb. 5, 2025, when they topped Hoquiam in their season finale last winter.
Early on, Rochester didn’t look like a team battling for its first win.
The Warriors came out fired up from the opening tip, scoring nine points in the first two-plus minutes of the game of three Tyson Canales buckets and a three from Knutson. Emmitt Mancuso hit a three of his own later in the frame, and Marshall Turnquist added a basket in the final minute.
“That first quarter was the best we’ve shot all season,” Sells said. “Live by the three, die by the three. It was nice to finally live by the three for a little bit.”
During this stretch, Tenino couldn’t get anything going on its own end. The Beavers turned the ball seven times and didn’t get on the board until more than a minute had gone by in the second.
“We dug ourselves such a big hole,” Tenino coach Nick Bamer said, while reminding his team to not panic. “Let’s just do what we do.”
The Beavers were better offensively in the second quarter, but the Warriors kept up the pressure offensively and entered the locker room with a 14-point lead. Knutson added another three, and Le’Shawn Hines also connected from deep to help Rochester maintain its lead.
After halftime, Tenino began to flip the script.
In the final 6:33 of the third, the Beavers outscored the Warriors 17-2, getting within a point entering the final frame. Five different Beavers scored during the stretch, including Owen Whitaker, who hit back-to-back threes to kickstart the run.
“We came out like our hair was on fire in the third,” Bamer said. “It was fun to watch them get a little bit of confidence within themselves … Seeing that lightbulb go off was cool.”
The two teams traded buckets early and were tied at 41 with 4:32 to play, but a pair of Sawyer Noonan free throws and a basket from Brayden Bennett gave Tenino a 45-41 lead.
“It takes a lot of effort to come back after you spot them 14,” Bamer said. “I feel like we’ve improved a lot just by being here tonight.”
Knutson responded with his pair of threes, leaving him with four on the night, and the Warriors held the Beavers without a field goal over the final 2:12.
“There were a lot of times tonight I had four freshmen on the court and one senior,” Sells said.
“Boy, they didn’t play like freshmen. They grinded it out … I was very impressed with how a young group of kids kept their composure. In that environment, it was a tight game, it would have been very easy for them to just fold.”
Canales finished with 18 points, while Knutson ended the night with 16. Hines logged six, and Mancuso tallied five.
Whitaker led Tenino with 16 points, while Henry Czuleger scored nine and brought down 12 rebounds. Brayden Bennett finished with eight points, and Jeremiah McKague logged seven points and 10 rebounds.
Bamer applauded McKague’s effort postgame, saying that it was the best he’s seen him play.
Tenino now sits at 2-14 overall and 0-4 through the first half of league play, but Bamer is pleased with the improvement he’s seen over the last few weeks.
“Each day we get a little better,” Bamer said. “We had some non-competitive games already. I think we’re capable of making them competitive, and I’d like to see that. I’m looking forward to seeing that, where it all comes together.”
The Beavers will head to The Bush School on Tuesday before hosting Montesano on Friday.
The Warriors are now 1-13 overall, but they sit at 1-2 in league play and are currently in fourth. They will host Aberdeen on Saturday before wrapping up the first half of their league schedule on Wednesday in Hoquiam.
“Obviously a big game,” Sells said. “We split with them last year. Of course, we were older last year. We give the freshmen a chance to see what they can do.”
