It’s said that defense wins championships, and a strong defensive effort by Castlewood Friday night provided the Warriors a chance to play for another championship tonight.

Castlewood did not allow more than eight points in any quarter on the way to a 56-28 win over Lyman in the semifinals of the State B Boys’ Basketball Tournament at Wachs Arena.

“It feels great,” said Castlewood junior Kamden Keszler. “(Holding a team under) 30 points in the semifinals doesn’t happen a lot.”

Castlewood scored the final seven points of the first quarter to take an 11-5 edge.

The game was still close at the half as the Raiders outscored Castlewood 8-7 in the second period.

That all changed in a decisive third quarter. After Lyman scored the opening basket, the Warriors went on a 13-0 run with 10 of those points coming from Keszler.

“I knew I had to get myself going,” Keszler said. “I knew I had to get my shots. We had to find it. … I needed to get going for my teammates. I’m the guy and I needed to do it. So that’s what I did.”

The scoring surge left Castlewood with a 31-15 advantage and the way the Warriors played defense provided enough offense to secure the win at that stage.

“We were just locked in,” said Castlewood coach Paul Raasch, of his team’s third-quarter run. “We always talk about trying to win the first three minutes of a half and we came out and won the first two minutes. Then they called a timeout and we said, ‘Let’s go do it again,’ and our guys did that.”

The Warriors continued to build on their lead the rest of the way to secure a return trip to the state championship game.

Despite the loss, Lyman coach Cooper Garnos was happy for the opportunity to play in the semifinals.

“What a great opportunity to be in the final four of the State B boys basketball,” Garnos said. “Just thankful, very thankful we have that opportunity.”

Cole Kieffer topped Lyman with 10 points.

The Raiders will meet Wall for third place at 5 this evening.

“Hats off to Coach Raasch and Castlewood. What a great team. They were phenomenal. They shut us down in all aspects of the game,” said Garnos. “But tomorrow is a new day. We’ll bounce back. This group always has and they’ve always given maximum effort.”

Keszler finished with 22 points to lead a balanced attack for the Warriors. Will Aderhold followed with 11, Brody Bass contributed 10, and Tyson Manley finished with eight.

Castlewood, 22-3 on the season, will now have a chance to win back-to-back state titles when the Warriors play Freeman around 6:45 tonight.

“It’s everything, that’s our goal,” Keszler said of winning back-to-back state titles. “It’s been our goal since the summer. So I mean, what’s the point of playing if you’re not trying to win? So it’d be everything for us.”

CASTLEWOOD (22-3): Kamden Keszler 9 3-8 22, Brody Bass 4 0-0 10, Tyson Manley 2 3-5 8, Will Aderhold 3 4-4 11, Kaden Nedved 0 4-4 4, Leonard Wernke 0 1-2 1. Totals 18-36 15-23 56.

LYMAN (18-6): MJ Diehm 3 0-0 6, Cole Kieffer 3 4-4 10, Chase Seaboy 1 1-2 3, Conway Collins 1 0-0 3, Joshua Vaad 2 0-0 5, Dawsen Volmer 0 1-2 1. Totals 10-44 6-8 28.

Castlewood 11 18 38 56

Lyman 5 13 20 28

3-point field goals – Bass 2, Keszler, Manley, Aderhold; Collins, Vaad. Total Fouls – Castlewood 13; Lyman 20. Rebounds Castlewood – 25 (Manley 6, Wernke 6); Lyman 32 (Kieffer 7). Turnovers – Castlewood 12; Lyman 21. Assists – Castlewood 7 (Keszler 2, Bass 2, Manley 2); Lyman 4 (Diehm, Volmer, Seaboy, Garnos). Blocked shots – Castlewood 3 (Aderhold 3); Lyman 1 (Kieffer). Steals – Castlewood 10 (Keszler 3, Manley 3); Lyman 5 (Diehm 2).