The Colfax boys basketball team had a photo of their head coach, Reece Jenkin, on the bench Friday night in a makeshift memorial for their mentor, who passed away earlier in the day after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
On a night of incredibly moving performances, his oldest son Adrik Jenkin provided the last. His floater in the lane early in the fourth quarter gave him 2,000 points in his storied career and helped the top-seeded Bulldogs cruise over eighth-seeded Liberty Bell 96-49 in a State 2B regional round game at West Valley High School.
Jenkin’s milestone bucket was the last of his game-high 34 points. The crowd – mostly all clad in purple in tribute to Reece Jenkin’s battle with the insidious disease – gave a knowing standing ovation after the announcement.
At the school administration’s request, there was no mention of Coach Jenkin’s passing during the evening. According to tournament organizers, the school and family wanted it to be “business as usual.”
“Obviously it’s been not a fun day, but to end it like that and hit that big milestone on the day of his passing, it meant a lot,” Adrik Jenkin said. “It’s a mixture of happiness and sadness. He’s happy and healthy now. It’s tough not having him down here anymore. Having that picture and memorial of him on the bench was a lot. It was super good to see him there. He was still with us, at least spiritually. It’s been a day.”
Colfax assistant coach Ben Aune has been running the bench for much of the season in Reece Jenkin’s stead.
“When (Adrik) got his 2,000th point and got that standing ovation, I’m standing on the sidelines trying not to start sobbing,” Aune said. “It was just so cool to see such support for him. But I think the reason he gets that support – not only from our community from other communities – is that he’s such a phenomenal kid.”
Adrik Jenkin’s big day followed an ever bigger one from his sister. Freshman Allie Jenkin led the girls team with a career-high 41 points in the 10th-seeded Bulldogs 61-48 win over 15th-seeded Okanogan in the early game.
“That was amazing. It didn’t surprise me at all,” Adrik Jenkin said. “Today, it hit her – she expresses it more than some of us. I think that really showed in her play today on the court. You can tell she was working extra hard today.”
“I couldn’t imagine going through this at 15, 16 years old – let alone being in Adrik’s shoes,” Aune said. “And then come out today and put up 34 points. And to see (Allie) come out and score 41? That’s literally stuff you see in movies. It’s absolutely unreal how those two kids performed today. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
The Bulldogs, who have been ranked No. 1 all season by the state 2B RPI system, outscored Liberty Bell 27-4 in the third quarter after building a 13-point lead at intermission. Senior Ledger Kelly added 23 points.
Jenkin was lifted with a little less than six minutes left in the game with the Bulldogs up by 40.
“I texted (Adrik) today and said, ‘Hey, don’t feel any pressure to play today. You’re going through the hardest thing I’ve ever seen a kid go through,’ ” Aune said. “But the text I got back was ‘Of course I’m going to play today.’ To be honest, I knew that was going to be his answer.
“We have a super tight-knit group, they all love each other, and they all wanted to pick up Adrik. It’s incredible how much our team has matured throughout this entire awful process.”
Aune and the entire Colfax community rallied around the girls and boys basketball teams. He said it’s what Reece Jenkin “would have wanted.”
“It’s been an extremely tough day, obviously,” Aune said. “Getting to the school today being around our guys, it’s one of things you’re driving up and knowing you’re gonna be around those guys, seeing these guys who played for Reece, loved Reece. It’s a feeling where I don’t have the right words to say, and I basically told them that.”