Gavan Muller didn’t have quite the monster performance for Adna as he did in the first meeting against Rainier when he scored 26 points Dec. 14, but it wasn’t required as the Pirates downed the Mountaineers 47-38 in Rainier Wednesday, Jan. 22.
Neither Adna nor Rainier could find much of an offensive rhythm Wednesday night, yet the Pirates converted in crunch time and thwarted any Mountaineers second-half surge with timely shots from the perimeter.
Rainier made a pronounced effort to contain Muller throughout the game, preventing him from getting the ball and jumping in the passing lane when the ball did come his way. But the Pirates adjusted as Beau Miller and Trevin Salme delivered key triples in the second half.
“We’re just trying to focus on us and really just competing for 32 minutes. Things aren’t going to be beautiful for us,” Adna coach Luke Salme said of his offense, which was held under 50 points for the second consecutive game. “We don’t care how we win. We just want to find ways to win. I don’t think we played smart at times, but we competed like crazy.”
For the first time since Dec. 9, Josh Meldrum joined the Mountaineers in the starting lineup after missing the last 11 games with a broken foot. The pace of the game early on couldn’t quite match Meldrum’s state championship-winning track speed as Rainier held a 4-3 lead halfway through the first quarter.
The Mountaineers defense was everywhere in the first quarter, rotating effectively and nabbing four steals. Jake Meldrum woke up the packed home gym with a jumper to beat the first-quarter buzzer and give Rainier a 12-10 lead.
The Central 2B League rivals traded buckets to start the second, highlighted by Josh Meldrum recording his first field goal in over six weeks.
“He’s a great athlete. It’s nice having him out there. There’s going to be a little bit of an adjustment period since he’s only been back a week or so,” Rainier coach Ben Sheaffer said. “We’re developing our chemistry. I thought he looked pretty good tonight and was moving around well.”
Humphrey put the Pirates in front at the half 22-20 by pitching in eight of Adna’s 12 points in the second quarter. Fans of defensive intensity and physicality would’ve marveled at the third quarter as both teams battled for an edge, with neither squad leading by more than five points in the first half.
The Pirates launched their surge late in the third as Jackson Knittle carved out a couple of layups in the paint and Trevin Salme splashed a deep triple to muzzle the crowd and give Adna its biggest lead at 32-25. Beau Miller only scored three points, but his triple to start the fourth opened up a 10-point margin.
Rainier had a golden opportunity to take a chunk out of the deficit with two minutes left as Peyton Sheaffer knocked down a 3-pointer simultaneously with a technical foul on the Pirates. Thanks to the foul, the Mountaineers would shoot two free throws and have possession on top of the triple, giving them a chance to tie.
However, Josh Meldrum split the free throws, and Jake Meldrum missed a contested layup to keep it a two-possession Adna lead. Rainier struggled to convert offensively in the final minutes, shooting just 1-8 after Sheaffer’s key triple, and the Pirates closed out a 47-38 win to remain tied for first in the C2BL with Napavine while Rainier maintains its fourth-place spot.
“It was a physical game. There was a nice atmosphere here. It felt like a district game and two teams battling,” Ben Sheaffer said. “In the end, I think they just made a few more plays than we did and hit a few more shots, especially from the perimeter. We went cold, and it seemed like they hit timely shots.”
The last time the Pirates and the Mountaineers clashed, Rainier was without Josh Meldrum and saw Peyton Sheaffer go down late in the first half with an ankle injury. Luke Salme was proud of how his young team defeated a C2BL contender at full strength on its home floor.
“When you hold this team to 38 points on their court, I’ll tip my cap to my kids for competing like crazy. That’s a very gifted offensive team,” he said of Rainier. “One thing about this group is that we just want to win. Nobody cares how many points they score. Everybody’s fired up in that locker room.”
Rainier (10-5, 7-5 C2BL) gets another crack at a C2BL heavyweight as Napavine (14-2, 11-1 C2BL) comes to town Saturday, Jan. 25 at 3 p.m. Adna (14-3, 11-1 C2BL) heads back home to host Onalaska (8-9, 6-7 C2BL) on Friday, Jan. 24 at 7 p.m.
