Greyhounds pack too much bite

The Pullman and Clarkston boys’ basketball teams tend to engage in aggressive contests that come down to the final moments, and Friday night’s meeting was no different.

With less than a minute to play and the Bantams trailing by five points, Tru Allen picked the pocket of Zane Wilson and streaked down the court with an opportunity to trim the deficit to a single possession. But the sophomore’s layup sailed a little too high, deflecting off the backboard for defensive rebound by the Greyhounds.

“It’s funny, Tru and I kind of glanced at each other and he grinned,” Clarkston coach Justin Jones said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen him miss a layup, to be honest with you. He’ll probably never miss another one like that.”

The sequence of events sealed a 59-51 home win for Pullman, helping the squad maintain its footing atop the league standings. The Greyhound girls were unable to pull off the sweep, falling to the Bantams by a score of 68-45 in the second matchup of the evening.

“I thought we played really well at times and then I thought we had some lulls,” Pullman coach Craig Brantner said. “We kind of scored in spurts; it would’ve been nice to spread that out over time. I thought we could have made a few more shots — Clarkston was very good defensively, much better than they were the first game.”

Despite missing the crucial layup, Allen posted another commanding performance with 19 points and six assists, while fellow Bantam Brandton Chatfield added eight points and six boards.

“We put Isaiah (Strong) on Tru and told him to guard him and do his best,” Brantner said. “We tried to give him help whenever we could. He’s going to take probably 50 percent of their shots. ... We just need to slow him down a little bit more, which is tough to do because he’s such a good player.”

Jake Wells led the way for Pullman (11-2 overall, 5-0 GNL) with 22 points on 9-of-18 shooting. The junior threw down an impressive one-handed jam during a fast break opportunity late in the second quarter, giving his squad a 26-18 advantage before halftime.

“It’s the old adage of you can’t really stop him, you can only hope to contain him,” Jones said. “He’s just a very dynamic player. We do our best to contest shots — he’s going to make a lot of them — but we just try to take a look at the bigger picture.”

The second half featured a physical battle in the paint, but the Greyhounds maintained their lead down the stretch while winning the rebounding battle by a 31-19 margin.

Pullman returns to the court at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday for a pivotal road matchup with West Valley of Spokane. The Bantams (5-7 overall, 2-4 GNL) will also play host to the Eagles in a Friday meeting at Kramer Gym.

“They’ve only got one loss in the league so far,” Brantner said. “It’s going to be a big game for us up there.”

CLARKSTON (5-7, 2-4)

Tru Allen 5 7-7 19, Austin Roueche 0 0-0 0, Nate Savolainen 0 0-0 0, Gus Hagstead 2 0-0 4, Alex Italia 3 3-6 11, Taylor Garrett 0 0-0 0, Kaeden Frazier 3 0-0 8, Colton Dudley 0 0-0 0, Brandton Chatfield 4 0-1 8, unassigned 0 1-1 1. Totals 17 10-14 51.

PULLMAN (11-2, 5-0)

Cole Hawes 1 0-5 2, Jake Wells 9 3-4 22, Isaiah Strong 4 4-6 12, Zane Wilson 3 0-0 6, Ethan Kramer 0 1-2 1, Jared Holstad 1 1-2 3, Brandon Lees 0 0-0 0, Konner Kinkade 3 4-4 13. Totals 21 12-21 59.

Clarkston 15 5 14 17—51

Pullman 12 19 10 18—59

Three-point goals — Kinkade 3, Allen 2, Italia 2, Frazier 2, Wells. Total fouls — Clarkston 13, Pullman 16. Fouled out — none.

GIRLS

Clarkston 68, Pullman 45

The Bantams may not have dominated the hardwood as easily as they did during December’s 32-point victory over the Greyhounds, but the program was able to fend off a feisty comeback effort to snag a league win.

“I just think that Pullman is a very dangerous team, so we don’t look past anyone,” Clarkston coach Debbie Sobotta said. “Last year was the same thing, they came back on us. They’re always going to make it a game, so you can’t rule them out.”

The Bantams (10-2 overall, 5-1 GNL) opened the first quarter with a 14-2 scoring run to take control of the game, as Ashlyn Wallace’s 3-pointer from the left wing put an exclamation point on the early scoring spree.

“Credit to them, they’re really good at moving the ball and they get open shots,” Pullman coach David Cofer said. “When we break down defensively, then we give them those easy looks.”

Despite the early double-digit deficit, the Greyhounds (3-10 overall, 0-5 GNL) battled back in the second period thanks to a strong effort from Meghan McSweeny, who finished with 12 points on the night.

“We put our heads down and tried to dribble through their pressure,” Sobotta said. “Once we got our heads up and started looking down the court, we relieved some of that pressure.”

The offensive firepower of the Clarkston roster proved too much to overcome in the second half, as Wallace shot 50 percent from the floor and nearly tallied a double-double with 14 points and nine steals. Teammates Makinzie Packwood and A.J. Sobotta also reached double figures with 13 and 12 points respectively.

“You can look through our scorebook and just about every game you’re going to have some different girls who are up there toward the top,” Debbie Sobotta said. “You have some who are pretty consistent, but I feel like everybody contributed.”

Rian Clear buoyed the Pullman offensive effort with 14 points and five rebounds, while Peyton Teevens snagged four steals in the loss.

“I think we improved as far as working together as a team and not trying to do it all ourselves,” Cofer said. “We’ve really been working on that this past week and it felt much better, and that’s what I told the girls.”

With the victory, Clarkston retains its position as the top squad in the Great Northern League standings. The Bantams enjoy a six-day break before playing host to West Valley of Spokane on Friday at 7 p.m.

“Every game is going to be tough in this league, it’s just a really balanced league,” Debbie Sobotta said. “We’re valuing every win.”

CLARKSTON (10-2, 5-1)

Ashlyn Wallace 6 0-0 14, Anna Sharp 2 0-0 6, Makinzie Packwood 6 1-4 13, Allie Jones 3 1-2 8, Mikayla Hill 0 0-0 0, A.J. Sobotta 5 0-0 12, Lauren Johnson 1 0-0 2, Mick Jackson 1 2-2 5, Jalena Henry 1 0-0 2, Maxine White Temple 2 0-4 4, Unassigned 1 0-0 2. Totals 28 4-12 68.

PULLMAN (3-10, 0-5)

Kelsey Nestegard 2 1-1 5, Peyton Teevens 2 0-0 5, Alexus Haugen 1 1-2 3, Caitlyn Hansen 0 1-2 1, Brianna Reyes 0 0-0 0, Brenna Utzman 0 1-2 1, Tianah Sanders 1 0-4 2, Meghan McSweeny 5 0-2 12, Hallie McDougle 1 0-0 2, Hailey Talbot 0 0-0 0, Rian Clear 5 3-3 14, Addie Hawes 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 7-16 45.

Clarkston 23 13 15 17—68

Pullman 8 20 6 11—45

Three-point goals — Wallace 2, Sobotta 2, Sharp 2, McSweeny 2, Clear, Teevens, Jones, Jackson. Total fouls — Clarkston 14, Pullman 11. Fouled out — Haugen.

Joshua Grissom can be reached at jgrissom@dnews.com or on Twitter @JoshuaGNews.