Playing in front of a full house at the Casteel High School gymnasium Friday night, the Casteel Colts nearly pulled off a major upset before falling to the undefeated and top-ranked Gilbert Tigers, 54-49.

On Jan. 8, Gilbert crushed Casteel, 72-50, but it was a different story on Friday as Casteel built a 23-13 halftime advantage, and did not relinquish the lead until the two-minute mark in the fourth quarter.

At that point, the undersized Colts  were in foul trouble and the Tigers used that to their advantage, making 11 free throws in the fourth quarter as they outscored Casteel, 25-15.

Doc Self led the way for the Tigers in the fourth quarter, scoring 11 points.

“It was a tough loss,” Casteel coach Brett Huston said. “I felt like we executed the game plan and we did what we need to do to win the game. W just allowed them to get back into game with free throws instead of making them earn shots.”

Fronting the post was a big part of the game plan, and it was successful as the Colts held Gilbert’s 6-foot-7 center Carson Towt to just six points.

Gilbert had a rocky start with 8 turnovers in the first half and after losing one player to an injury in practice the day prior, head coach Jay Caserio said the lineup got all “goofy”.

Yet the Tigers were able to regroup after the half and kept pushing. Gilbert had only two turnovers in the second half.

Another change Caserio made was utilizing sophomore guard Tampa Scott to try and shut down Casteel’s Deven Franks.

“Deven Franks was killing us," Caserio said. "He was getting into the lane, he was hitting shots and he was getting to the free throw line.

 “We put Tampa on him in the fourth quarter. He’s a sophomore, but man he’s tough as nails. He’s very confident and I think he changed the game there for about a two-minute stretch.”

Late in the game Scott was able draw an offensive foul on Franks, who had already picked up three early fouls in the first quarter and had to sit out for a while.

“I’m definitely confident with the ball,” said Franks, who finished with a team high 14 points, “but I trust in my teammates that even if I’m not in the game, we’re going to compete.”

Though the loss stung, Franks called it a “confidence booster” for Casteel, and his head coach agreed.

“I think this showed us that we’re capable of playing defense against anybody,” Huston said.  “Coming into this game we really questioned ourselves on the defensive end, and I think after this game we don’t. We’re starting to come together at the right time.”

The 13th-ranked Colts (9-6, 4-3) will look to bounce back on Tuesday night at Williams Field High School when they face the 10th-ranked Black Hawks.