Seven.
That’s the number of times Pe Ell, consecutively, had lost to Adna over the past three years going into Thursday night’s District IV 2B Boys Basketball Tournament.
Needless to say, it’s a number the Trojans can now forget about.
Pe Ell held Adna to just three points in the fourth quarter and pulled off a 45-41 win in Chehalis — ending the Pirates’ season and sealing a second-straight trip to the State 2B Boys Basketball Tournament in Spokane for the Trojans.
“You can’t know how happy I am,” Pe Ell coach Clayburn Lusk said. “My kids battled. We took it to ‘em.”
Adna led most of the way, but Pe Ell switched up its zone defense to put more pressure on the Pirates’ outside shooters in the fourth frame.
The result was just one Adna field goal in the fourth quarter.
“It worked. That’s all we can ask for,” Pe Ell guard Hank Robinson said.
“We got a little more active,” Lusk said. “We switched up the pressure a little bit.”
Lerry Tolliver’s second 3-pointer of the night, with just over 3 minutes remaining, put the Trojans ahead for the first time in the second half. Nate Trotter tied things up with a free throw, but Tyler Ratkie gave Pe Ell the go-ahead free throws with 2 minutes remaining.
The teams swapped missed shots until Adna wound up with the ball out of bounds and 15 seconds on the clock. The Pirates got the ball inbounds, but Robinson picked off a pass. He laid the ball up, on the other end, as time expired to wrap up Adna’s season — passing on an exclamation-point dunk.
“I wanted to finish,” he said. “I didn’t want to miss it.”
Robinson finished with 10 points despite a dismal shooting night (3 of 16), but had more important things to worry about after the game — namely, the throng of navy blue-clad Pe Ell fans waiting and cheering outside the locker room.
“I had an off night, but it doesn’t matter,” he said. “This is the first time we’ve beat ‘em. I love this feeling.”
Tolliver, according to Lusk, was a big factor, coming off the bench to hit two crucial 3s in the second half.
“It was nice to see him come in,” Lusk said. “He’s got a sweet shot.”
Coulsen Kohler led Adna with 16 points on 6 of 14 shooting from the field. Jacob Revis added 8 off the bench, but no other Pirate scored more than 5.
“My hat’s off to them,” Lusk said. “They always play great defense, but we struggle against them.”
Robinson finished with 10 to lead Pe Ell and, along with forward Dylan Toepelt, played all 32 minutes.
The Trojans (18-5) play Willapa Valley at 11:30 Saturday morning, back in Chehalis.
Notes: The game was stopped late in the second quarter after a fan reportedly suffered a heart attack in the stands. After 20 minutes he was taken out of the gymnasium, and the first half of play was finished.
