Chaska’s junior captain Tyler Forrest joined the 1,000-point club on Friday, Dec. 9, leading the Hawks to an 88-75 victory over rival Chanhassen in a pivotal conference game.

1,000 career points. It’s one of the most important milestones a high school basketball player can achieve.

Doing so on your biggest rival’s floor? Especially cool. Becoming the second Chaska Hawk to do so on that floor in two years? Even better.

And the very best part about it all? Having those points lead your team to a victory in an intense rivalry game.

Junior captain Tyler Forrest scored 23 points, achieving his 1,000th career point, and led the Chaska Hawks to victory over the Chanhassen Storm by a final score of 88-75. Forrest scored his 1,000th career point on the same end of the Chanhassen floor that 2025 Chaska graduate Tray Lenzen had scored his 1,000th point just one season ago.

Coming into the game, Forrest needed exactly 23 points to reach the milestone. Rather than forcing shots, he let the game come to him.

“Before the game, me and my coach (Nick Hayes) talked about it and we knew if I just let it come to me and play the same way I always play I’ll be fine,” Forrest said. “So I was just focused on doing what I could to get the win and lead my teammates.”

The Storm came out firing, taking an early 17-9 lead behind the outside shooting of seniors Logan DeAlwis and Matthew Daly and the all-around scoring of senior Kolby Christl and junior Bennett Barger.

The Hawks started to find their rhythm with threes from junior Eli Herzog and freshman Jed Keenan, but it was the play of Forrest and fellow junior captain Kalin Jochum that sparked a massive turnaround. Along with senior captain Evan Atkinson and two more threes by Jed Keenan, the Hawks rattled off a stunning 29-4 run in the first half to seize control.

Forrest’s layup at the end of the half gave the Hawks a commanding 40-25 lead at intermission. The junior captain had scored 15 in the half, leaving him just 8 points shy of 1,000.

The Hawks extended their lead in the second half, with Atkinson and fellow senior Matthew Welter getting it done on both ends of the floor. The Hawks’ advantage ballooned to over 20 points before the Storm mounted a comeback attempt.

Chanhassen battled back behind an excellent game from Christl, with sophomore Isaac Johnson and senior Loghan Gustad hitting key shots to keep the Storm in it. Senior Nathan Ramler also contributed crucial baskets as Chan clawed the lead back to single digits.

With under three minutes to go, the attention turned to Forrest and his quest for 1,000 points — and securing the Hawks’ win. A thunderous baseline dunk with 2:40 remaining gave Chaska a 16-point lead and put Forrest just 4 points away from the milestone.

Down the stretch, Forrest had the ball in his hands as Chanhassen was forced to foul. His first trip to the line resulted in two more points, leaving him just two shy of 1,000. Then, with 1:58 to go in the game, Chan once again elected to put Forrest on the line.

First free throw: good.

Second free throw — and the 1,000-point milestone: good.

Chaska’s student section erupted, and both teams paused the game to acknowledge Forrest’s achievement. The Hawks led 78-65.

“It feels great to finally be in the 1,000 point club — that has been a huge goal of mine since starting playing high school basketball,” Forrest said.

But Chanhassen wasn’t done. Threes by Christl and Ramler brought the Hawks’ lead down to 8 in the final minutes.
But the Hawks would not falter. Welter, who scored 6 points in the final two minutes, answered with an emphatic dunk on a breakaway to help the Hawks cement the win over their rivals, 88-75.

On the night, Chaska was led by Forrest’s 23 and Jochum’s 21. Welter and Jed Keenan each added 12 (Keenan with four three-pointers), while Atkinson contributed 11.

For Chanhassen, Christl led all scorers with 24, followed by Barger with 16 and Johnson with 10.

For Forrest, reaching the milestone in front of a packed Chanhassen gym made it even more special.

“It was really cool to get my 1,000th point in that game in front of a lot of my family and friends,” Forrest said. “So it meant a lot to me to get it in a win against Chan.”

The Hawks followed their win over Chanhassen with a 61-56 win over Edina on Jan. 10. Chaska Boys Basketball returns to action on Thursday, Jan. 15, at Bloomington Jefferson. Their next home game is Thursday, Jan. 22, against Farmington.

Chanhassen returns to action on Thursday, Jan. 15, at Benilde-St. Margaret’s, and return home on Friday, Jan. 23, against Orono.