STAT HOUND MEDIA
CENTRAL WASHINGTON DIGITAL PREP SPORTS
SEAN CARTER/Stat Hound contributor
No. 4 Royal rebounds, tops fifth-ranked Chelan
Wardenaar, Palmer lead Knights, Quincy's Bierlink reaches 2,000 points
STAT HOUND
Jan 18, 2026
CHELAN – A day after seeing a chance to knock off top-ranked Zillah vanish in the final second, fourth-ranked Royal bounced back in a big way Saturday.
Led by SCAC leading-scorer Grant Wardenaar’s 31 points and 17 from freshman Graham Palmer, the Knights handed No. 5 Chelan its first home loss of the season with a 74-57 victory.
Royal was coming off an 88-84 loss to No. 1 Zillah on Friday, with Leopards guard X Castilleja’s 3-pointer with less than a second left lifting the visitors past the Knights.
They responded Saturday with a victory that’ll give a boost to their RPI.
After trailing by four at the intermission, Royal took a four-point lead into the fourth where Palmer made three 3-pointers and had 12 of the Knights’ 25 points in the quarter.
Royal (7-2 SCAC, 12-2 overall) returns to action Friday at Connell.
Elsewhere Saturday, Quincy’s Pierce Bierlink, the reigning CWAC scoring champion, scored 30 points and eclipsed the 2,000-point mark for his career in the Jackrabbits’ 77-52 victory at Othello.
In the CBBN, West Valley’s boys won their sixth straight to remain unbeaten in conference play.
The fourth-ranked Rams (6-0 CBBN, 11-2 overall) beat Eisenhower 86-52 as sophomore Jett Bremerman sank six 3-pointers and scored 22 points.
Sunnyside's big night topped the highlights of Friday's action.
Grizzlies senior Lili Briones eclipsed the 1,000-point mark in a 68-40 victory against Eastmont.
Junior guard Aiden Sanchez then followed with his second straight 33-point outing to lead Sunnyside's boys to their third straight victory, a 55-41 win against the Wildcats.
The Grizzlies will host Moses Lake in a doubleheader next Friday. The Sunnyside and Mavericks are tied for second place in the boys standings.