SPOKANE — The Adna High School boys basketball team went pound-for-pound with the No. 1 and unbeaten Colfax Bulldogs.
They led for various moments. They went on a couple runs that made their opponents sweat. They never were swatted away.
Pirates head coach Luke Salme has mentioned the word magic several times in Spokane Arena. They were able to fend off Liberty Bell, upset NW Christian Colbert and squash Reardan.
Under the bright lights on Saturday night, the magic ran out.
No. 1 Colfax completed the perfect season for its head coach Reece Jenkin, who passed away from pancreatic cancer eight days ago, with a statement 69-56 victory over the No. 9 Pirates.
Adrik Jenkin, the star for the Bulldogs, hit nine 3-pointers in a performance to remember. Its one off the record of 10 set by Spencer Novak of La Conner in 2011.
Adna (25-5) ran into the buzzsaw that is the Bulldogs in its first ever trip to the state title game. Yet it never fell victim to the pressure until it was too late for a comeback.
Down seven to begin the second half, Adna erased that in a hurry with Trevin Salme, Landen Cline and Kaden Richardson all nailing field goals to tie the game at 33 apiece.
That ended up being the closest the Pirates came to leading for the remainder of the night.
Jenkin buried back-to-back deep 3s and a 3-point play from Gunner Brown gave Colfax its first double digit lead. It took a 55-43 cushion into the final eight minutes.
Adna grabbed its first lead on a Salme 3-pointer, then Colfax closed the opening eight minutes on a 9-2 spree. The Bulldogs senior Ledger Kelly capped the frame with wing triple.
The Pirates' backdoor cuts were sniffed out by the lengthy Bulldogs lineup, unlike the first three games in Spokane. Still, the inside passing worked effortlessly as part of a 7-0 spree in the second stanza.
Kannen Kephart and Jamie Greenwood converted two straight layups and Salme hit his third and final 3-pointer of the opening half to grab a 21-18 advantage. Colfax refused to let Adna pull away and Adrik Jenkin played a major role in that.
He drilled three 3s as part of a 13-2 outburst that gave the Bulldogs their largerst lead of the half, 31-23.
Complete coverage to come on chronline.com
