Tuesday's 2B Boys Basketball: Collins, Pirates Set New Long Range Records in Win over Hyaks

By Jordan Nailon

jnailon@chronline.com

ADNA — The Pirates scorched the nets in record fashion here on Tuesday as they rewrote the school history books while simultaneously knocking North Beach out of the district tournament.

Adna ran out to an 18-0 advantage over the Hyaks right from the start, and as it turned out they were just heating up in their District IV 2B boys basketball matchup.

“In that 18-0 start I think four or five of them were threes to get us going,” Adna coach Luke Salme said. “We broke two school records. Chase Collins hit nine 3-pointers tonight, he was 9 for 11. That’s a school record, and as a team we hit 17 (3-pointers) which broke the record of 16 that we set earlier in the season against Montesano.”

The Pirates shot 55 percent from the field in the contest with 31 of their 56 shots finding their mark. On the flip side, Adna utilized a full court press that kept North Beach in a harried state for the bulk of the contest. As a result, the Hyaks managed to shoot just 36 percent from the field, including a 6 of 20 effort from downtown.

“When you do those things all of a sudden there’s a pep in your step defensively and sometimes things can steamroll,” Salme noted.

Collins finished with a game-high 27 points while finding time to dish four assists for Adna.

In less flashy fashion, Cole Fay narrowly missed out on hustle and muscle triple double.

“Cole Fay was phenomenal. He ended up a basket and two rebounds away from a triple double, and I didn’t know that or I would have left him in there a little bit longer. He didn’t play at all in the fourth quarter,” Salme said. “When we decide we’re going man he always ends up guarding their best guy and they’re miserable.”

Fay finished the game with 10 assists, eight points, eight rebounds and three steals.

After running out to their 18-0 lead the Pirates allowed North Beach to get back in the game momentarily. The Hyaks capitalized on a few second chance points to draw within seven points with six minutes remaining in the first half. However, that run was systematically shut down by the home team over the final five minutes of the half and the Pirates were able to take a 17-point lead into the intermission.

With the combined security of their lead and their collectively hot hand the Pirates came out of the locker room and immediately tried to bring the house down when they ran a set play to set Thomas up for a backside lob at the rim. The ensuing dunk attempt found too much iron but the high-flying play call sent a jolt of energy through the crowd that seemed to sustain the boys in blue and yellow over the final 16 minutes as they extended their advantage all the way out to 40.

“We run that lob a lot. If a team zones us we’re going to run that play and it’s pretty simple — You throw it up to where Braden can get it and nobody else can. Usually that works pretty well,” Salme explained. “It’s not designed to necessarily be a dunk attempt. That was a pass that was off by about two feet and he kind of had to force it. [Thomas] wants a dunk off of that and he gets a lot of them in practice. He’s really dying to get one of them down in a game.”

Braden Thomas added 20 points, eight rebounds, two steals and two blocks for the winners.

Kyle Fry led the Hyaks with 11 points while Tre’Vaughn Greene and Reagan Harnagy added eight points each.

“They have a couple of sophomores that are really tough to guard so that’s a team that is going to be better in the Paciific League next year for sure,” said Salme of North Beach.

The win sets Adna up for a date with Ilwaco later this week. Salme says his squad of scalliwags will have to bring a strong defensive effort to that district contest if they want to remain in the winner’s bracket.

“They’re a four seed but they are good. They’re a hard matchup. They have a 6’8” kid who can finish inside. They have a first-team All-League kid that’s a left handed slasher and then two really good shooters outside,” Salme said. “It will be a chore defensively.”

Adna will face Ilwaco at W.F. West on Thursday at 6 p.m.

Esary’s 32-Point Effort Squandered

GRAYLAND — Sophomore Jackson Esary’s phenomenal 32-point barrage wasn’t enough to lift Kalama past Onalaska in a 51-74 road defeat in the opening round of the District 4 2B boys playoffs Tuesday.

The loss ends the Chinooks season at 5-15 after earning the No. seed out of the Central 2B League. Ocosta (11-10), the fifth seed out of the Pacific 2B League, moves on to face fourth-seeded Onalaska (15-5) at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, at Rochester High School.

Esary, who averages over 18 points per game, was helped by Dylan Mills’ five points and Max Cox’s four. The two teams shot identical percentages from the field (38 percent). Tanner Mills, Kalama’s lone senior, played his final game for the Chinooks.