ADNA — The Adna boys basketball team won Thursday before it even took the court.
Then, the Pirates went out for their rescheduled matchup against Winlock and made a good day even better, in an 86-31 blowout.
For seven weeks, Adna had operated without Braeden Salme, after the all-area guard broke his foot in the first week of practice and required surgery. At the time, doctors told him that if all went well, he could maybe — maybe — come back in time for the Pirates’ rivalry matchup against Napavine on Jan. 30.
But Thursday, nearly two weeks ahead of schedule, there he was, running out onto the court in front of an Adna student section waving paper No. 3s.
“Even his surgeon and his podiatrist have said, it’s pretty incredible how fast healthy teenagers can recover,” Adna head coach Luke Salme said. “He did what he was supposed to do, and now we’re going to keep doing what he’s supposed to do. But all signs are positive right now, and that’s a pretty happy kid that got to play another basketball game.”
The senior played a shade under six minutes in his season debut, and didn’t leave the bench in the second half, finishing with seven points. Over the next couple of games, he’ll ramp things up, to be at full strength going into the final week of the season.
But even with a smaller workload Thursday, it felt like a different Pirate team out on the floor.
“It’s crazy (his) calming effect,” Luke Salme said.
And boosted by their leader’s return, the Pirates (10-4, 4-2 C2BL) went out and dominated in the most even-handed way possible. Seven separate Adna players found the bottom of the basket in the first quarter, and by halftime, six had scored multiple buckets.
Then in the second half, 6-foot, 4-inch sophomore Jackson Knittle — who was one of the three Pirates to not score in the first half — went off for a game-high 16 points, dominating a Winlock defense that just ran out of gas. He also led the Pirates with 12 rebounds.
“You see a frame like that, with touch and some aggression — I think there’s some potential there to do some things and be a beast in the next two years,” Luke Salme said.
That extra dimension helped Adna, which had already led by 28 at halftime, go on a 32-3 run over the final 12 points of the game.
Freshmen Trevin Salme and Grayson Humphrey both added 13 points, while Gavan Muller had nine and Jens Neilson and Lakoda South added eight apiece.
All told, Adna’s bench combined for 47 points, outscoring both the Pirate starters and the entire Winlock team.
“There is a little more depth, and it’s unique depth,” Luke Salme said. “It’s guys with different strengths that I can bring in to do some different things, depending on what we need. We have a pretty decent makeup for what’s coming in the next month.”
Landen Cline finished with 11 points, as the only Cardinal in double-figures. Carter Svenson added eight points — all in the first quarter — and Lincoln Ruiz had six to go along with six rebounds.
The Cardinals (2-10, 0-7 C2BL) will face Rainier on Friday, while Adna will go to Onalaska.
