The playoff feel came to Adna a bit early, with the Pirates coming up just short after jumping out early in a feisty affair against Wahkiakum in a 70-65 loss.
“That was a heck of a high school basketball game,” coach Luke Salme said. “District-like atmosphere, back and forth, lots of big plays made. Those are the games that’ll get us ready for (the) playoffs.”
The Pirates started strong, jumping out to a 25-11 lead after the first eight minutes of play, but the Mules staged their comeback over the following three quarters. Kyler Sause scored 26 points in the final 24 minutes to finish with a game-high 29, and Wahkiakum finally took the lead in the fourth before holding on for the slim win.
Jens Neilson powered the Pirates with 18 points — 15 of which came in the first quarter — with Lane Johnson and Gavan Muller both chipping in 14. Braeden Salme returned for Adna again and scored four points.
Adna will get another matchup with huge seeding implications Friday, when it hits the road north to Rainier.
