Pullman, Moscow kicking off first Clash of the Combines

For decades, the annual games between the Pullman Greyhounds of Washington and Moscow Bears of Idaho have unofficially been christened “The Battle of the Palouse.” This term has followed nearly any and all athletic competitions involving teams hailing from the towns, going as far as being the preferred term for games between the University of Idaho and Washington State.

Today, that changes — at the high school level at least.

Both boys and girls basketball teams for Pullman and Moscow will compete today in the first annual “Clash of the Combines.” The girls are slated to play at 5:30 p.m. and the boys at 7 p.m. and both games will take place at the Bear Den at Moscow Junior High School.

The Clash of the Combines will be an event in the same vein as the annual Golden Throne event between Clarkston and Lewiston, with focus being placed on sportsmanship, philanthropy and school spirit.

First responders from both towns will serve as judges for the sportsmanship and school spirit aspects of the game and both schools have participated in a coin drive that benefits Alternatives to Violence on the Palouse.

There will be several more events during the proceedings, but the games between the four teams will take center stage (or center court, in this instance).

Here’s a preview for both games taking place today at Bear Den:

Moscow vs. Pullman boys basketball, 7 p.m. in Moscow

The Bears’ and the Greyhounds’ boys game will be the main event of the Clash of Combines.

Pullman (3-2) is coming off a dominant 70-31 win against Colville and Moscow (2-2) is fresh off a similarly emphatic 43-24 win against Kellogg.

Both teams have players that teams plan their entire defenses around — Greyhounds with Champ Powaukee and the Bears with Ian Hillman. Because teams build their defenses around stopping Powaukee and Hillman, both squads have been working to get consistent as a team on the offensive side of the floor.

Even with their own respective star players, both teams are still working through some early-season kinks. Disappointing losses are included in those kinks — Moscow a 71-27 setback against Coeur d’Alene on Dec. 4 and Pullman a 78-57 loss to Grandview on Nov. 29.

The Greyhounds have gotten double-digit performances from Austin Hunt and Daniel Kwon and the Bears have gotten their own impressive showings from JP Breese, Traiden Cummings and Joey Williams. Both teams can shoot inside the perimeter and outside and have no problem taking it to the rim should the situation allow it.

There have been glimpses of defensive prowess this season — and the winning team today will most likely be the one who turns those glimpses to a showcase.

“I think we still have yet to play a solid defensive game,” Moscow coach Josh Uhrig said. “We know the offense will come. ... Everytime we get good ball movement, we get open looks. And we go 10 deep. We got 10-to-11 guys that play all the time. And I feel like we can outshoot a lot of teams when we get good ball movement and play at our pace.”

A win for either team would offer valuable momentum and a step in the right direction. But for Moscow, a win against a squad like Pullman couldn’t come at a better time.

The Bears play their first Idaho Class 4A Inland Empire League game against Lakeland on Friday in Rathdrum. The confidence and momentum that would come with a win against the Greyhounds definitely won’t hurt against the Hawks.

And whoever wins the game will earn a lot of confidence — and bragging rights.

The winning squad will get the inaugural Clash of the Combines trophy driven to their school, fittingly, on a combine. That kind of imagery will definitely come up over the next year. After all, most of the players from both teams know each other and have played with and against each other from childhood, and those kind of “in-your-face” moments don’t come often.

Moscow vs. Pullman girls basketball, 5:30 p.m. in Moscow

Before the boys take the court in the nightcap, the girls will be tasked with setting the tone for the rest of the night.

Similar to the boys, both teams are very much alike in ability. Unlike the boys, the records are at a very different place.

Moscow is 3-3 and is working on its consistency under first-year coach Josh Colvin. Pullman is 0-5 and hoping to check the first tally in the win column. The Greyhounds have been close a couple times — they lost by one point in a Nov. 29 game against Grandview and by five in a Thursday game against Freeman.

“We’ve been really close this early season, way more than we were last year,” Pullman coach Angie Barbour said. “Just haven’t been able to crack that win column, unfortunately. I think we match up really nicely with (Moscow). They’ve got a decent point guard and they got some size and we got some size and I think we matchup really well with them. … I think it’s going to be a good game.”

The winner of the girls game will likely come down to what coaches often preach: crashing the boards.

Both teams have solid post players who are more than capable of taking it to the rim themselves or kicking it out to the more-than-capable shooters both teams feature: Punk Knott for the Bears and Grace Kuhle for Pullman, among others.

Between the Greyhounds’ frontcourt unit of Sophie Armstrong and Ryliann Bednar and Moscow’s Lola Johns and Jacque Williams, whoever is able to pull down more rebounds and create more possessions will likely be the winners today.

Final thoughts

Whoever wins between the two games today, it’ll be an important day for Moscow and Pullman athletics, alike.

The rivalry between the two schools has been a near-constant for decades in all sports, with the lone exception being the COVID-19 pandemic.

The redubbing of the Battle of the Palouse into the Clash of the Combines is the first step to making the rivalry on par with events like the Golden Throne and several of its ilk between high schools up in Spokane.

Both schools are excited to have something similar to call their own, and that’s all but guaranteed to show in the Bear Den today.

“We may be kind of late to the party (with the events), but I’m glad we’re here, finally,” Barbour said. “Inaugural year, we’ll see how it goes. And then both schools and ASB programs can build going forward and make it bigger and bigger as the years go by. I’m looking forward to building on it and having a really cool event in our area.”

Kowatsch can be contacted at 208-848-2268, tkowatsch@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @Teren_Kowatsch.