It took an overtime loss and a five-point setback for the Napavine High School boys basketball team to become unified. Those margin of defeats came in the regular season to their arch rival, Adna.
Simply put, the Tigers had enough.
“We took a back seat to a little bit older team and we came to the conclusion, we weren’t going to take a back seat to anybody,” their first year head coach Kayden Kelly said. “We were going to do our own thing.”
Welcome to the front of Class 2B District 4, Napavine.
Behind a stellar night from behind the arc and the Bullock brothers combining for over half of the Tigers points, they turned the third contest versus the C2BL regular season champs into a 72-52 semifinal rout on Wednesday night in Chehalis.
For the second time in three years and seventh time this century, Napavine (19-4) will play for a district championship on Saturday night. It also is back in the state tournament for the fourth time in five years.
“It felt great,” senior guard Cal Bullock said. “I felt like we wanted it more. We played more for each other, not for ourselves.”
The high-octane offense that’s been the star of the show returned in the most crucial contest to date. Eric Bullock canned back-to-back 3s in the opening quarter and fired in another one from the top of the key to give Napavine the lead for good.
He was the leader of the 3-point train. Everyone else followed.
Layton Griffith capped a 10-0 spree in the second quarter with a triple, Cal Bullock rattled one in to put the Tigers up 18 and Hudson Chambers swished his deep shot in the third to make it a 51-29 game, the largest lead of the night.
In total, the Tigers were 10-of-16 from downtown. Both Bullocks were 3-for-4.
“That was the best game we’ve played all year in the biggest moment,” Eric Bullock said. “We got hot and we knew it was over.”
Kelly has coached the younger Bullock since middle school. The sophomore has blossomed into one of the premier scorers in the league and he showcased it versus Adna with a game-high 21 points.
“I’ve known what kind of player he is and I know what kind of player he’s going to be,” Kelly said. “I’ve heard some things about him not being big enough, strong enough, ready enough. He came out and proved to everybody that he belongs in these games.”
As noteworthy as the offense was, Napavine’s defense flustered Adna (19-4) with contested shots. Cal Bullock, who finished with 16 points, was tasked with defending Co-MVP Trevin Salme and even though the junior scored 17 points, he shot 6-of-23 from the field.
The Pirates made just 34 percent of their shots.
“Just got to make (Salme) take the difficult shots as much as you can,” Cal Bullock said.
Adna head coach Luke Salme didn’t beat around the bush afterwards.
“Basketball isn’t that complicated,” he said. “(Just) make baskets. Yes they made it at a crazy good percentage, but it felt like they were all open. I thought the ball was really sticky for us and when we play 1-on-1, that is not necessarily advantage Adna.”
Come the fourth quarter, it was back-and-forth buckets from both sides. Still, Napavine kept answering every Adna make and in the process, and it never allowed a long run. Griffith recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds and Chambers chipped in 13 points.
Griffith also notched five assists and four blocks, both team-bests.
“When your defense is playing like that, just sticking with it and doing what we know we can,” Kelly said.
Adna scored the first four points of the game and with Salme struggling, Grayson Humphrey picked up the load with a team-high 18 points and Kaden Richardson was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field for 11 points.
Yet the size of the Tigers made life difficult. It’s a reality Coach Salme now enters heading into a winner-to-state game versus Onalaska on Friday back at W.F. West High School. The Pirates won both matchups, but the first one was only a five-point victory.
“If we play like that defensively on Friday, our season will be over,” Coach Salme said. “I have a feeling we’ll have a phenomenal practice tomorrow. I think it matters a lot to these guys. We still control our own destiny.”
Meanwhile, Napavine gets another third meeting, this time with Toledo after a regular season split. Outside of taking a district title trophy home, there’s an extra incentive. Cal Bullock said if the Tigers win, Kelly is shaving his head.
“For a lot of us, it is our first time playing in this game,” Eric Bullock said. “We’ll be ready no matter what.”
