Clarkston Bantams and Pullman Greyhounds split doubleheader in boys and girls basketball

PULLMAN — Before a snowstorm hit the Palouse and Lewis-Clark Valley on Tuesday, the Pullman Greyhound and Clarkston Bantam boys and girls basketball teams took the hardwood for a pair of 2A Greater Spokane League contests at Pullman High School.

The Clarkston girls won 63-22 and the Pullman boys won 52-33.

The Bantam girls overcame a slow start to record their fourth win of the season by 40 or more points (third in four games) and the Greyhound boys used their size and length advantage to earn a win in a lower-scoring game than is the norm for both squads.

“I asked the girls after the game in the locker room — I said ‘What do you guys think,’” Clarkston coach Debbie Sobotta said. “And a couple of them right away said ‘We just started slow.’ We’ve got to start better than that, faster than that, more focused than that.”

Here’s how Tuesday’s league doubleheader shaped out:

Greyhounds collar Bantams

The boys took the court for the nightcap of the doubleheader, and the low-scoring game was indicative of the style of defense played throughout the night.

Clarkston (6-6, 0-2) and Pullman (9-4, 3-0) played the same style of defense against each other — straight up man-to-man. This led to a lot of turnovers, and players weren’t afraid to take a couple of swipes or pokes at the ball once it got in the paint.

Despite the aggression, the Greyhounds’ size advantage in the post and the length of its guards started to show on the scoreboard. At the end of the first quarter, the Bantams trailed 18-10. By halftime, they were down 26-15.

“(Both teams) came out and kind of held each other in check for a little while,” Pullman coach Craig Brantner said. “And it is a low-scoring game anyways on both parts. ... We had some possessions that I thought we rushed the shots late in the game, but otherwise I thought we controlled the tempo.”

Clarkston was able to offset some of the size disadvantage by crashing the boards and had several second-chance opportunities stemming from offensive rebounds early in the game. But the Bantams couldn’t connect on a majority of their shot attempts. They shot just 14-of-49 (28.6 %) from the floor.

“We’re hanging in there in games, in some form or fashion, with our defense,” Clarkston coach Justin Jones said. “And if we can start making shots, I think we have a chance to win some games. You can’t go (28%) from the field in high school basketball games and expect to win.”

Eventually, Pullman’s patient approach on offense (Cade Rogers had 16 points, Champ Powaukee had 13 points and Austin Hunt had eight), ended up sealing the 19-point win.

Carter Steinwand and Nathan Somers led Clarkston with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Somers had two second-half 3-pointers for the Bantams.

Clarkston soars over Pullman

When the Bantams (13-0, 5-0) hit their final shot with just under a minute left, it was a complete shift in scales compared to how the game, and the Greyhounds (3-9, 2-1) started the contest.

Clarkston’s usually smothering defense was on display from the tip-off. It implemented its trademark full-court press early and snagged a lot of steals in the process. Pullman, for its credit, wasn’t initially phased.

The Greyhounds helped limit the impact of some of the possessions lost with the turnovers by out-rebounding the Bantams in the first eight minutes. Pullman got a couple of second-chance looks, took advantage and led Clarkston 8-6 with 3:56 left in the opening quarter. Then the Bantams’ offense woke up.

For the rest of the first quarter through the second, Clarkston outscored the Greyhounds 25-4, including a 22-0 run, and led 31-12 going into halftime.

Pullman’s advantage on the glass had evaporated and it couldn’t stop the Bantams from further upping their lead.

But Clarkston’s aggressive defense eventually took its toll for both the Greyhounds and the Bantams.

Pullman’s offense slowed down as Clarkston’s press persisted. But the Bantams’ aggression resulted in a couple of their players being dinged up in the process.

Aneysa Judy clutched at her knee and her lower leg after being inadvertently taken to the ground going for a rebound early in the fourth, but looked to recover while sitting on the bench.

Preslee Dempsey also suffered an injury, an ankle sprain according to Sobotta, and had to be helped in and out of the locker room after the game. It’s possible that Dempsey will miss some game time.

The win continues Clarkston’s undefeated season and, with a little under a month left in the regular season, there’s a more-than legitimate opportunity for the Bantams to enter districts undefeated.

Players of the night

Alahondra Perez led the Bantams with 16 points and four rebounds. Kendall Wallace added 13 points to go with four steals and Jaelyn McCormack-Marks had six steals, seven assists and six rebounds to go with her two points.

Rogers led the Greyhound boys with 16 points on 6-for-9 shooting. Somers helped the Bantams in his limited shot attempts, scoring 10 points on 3-for-5 shooting, all 3-pointers.

GIRLS

CLARKSTON (13-0, 3-0)

Jaelyn McCormack-Marks 0 2-2 2, Kendall Wallace 5 2-2 13, Olivia Gustafson 0 0-0 0, Preslee Dempsey 3 0-0 7, Ryann Combs 1 0-2 2, Aneysa Judy 2 2-2 7, Eloise Teasley 4 2-2 10, Ella Leavitt 2 0-0 4, Alahondra Perez 5 4-4 16, Joey Miller 0 0-0 0, Lexi Villavicencio 1 0-0 2. Totals 18 5-12 63.

PULLMAN (3-9, 2-1)

Bri Rasmussen 1 0-0 2, Grace Kuhle 2 2-4 6, Sophie Armstrong 2 0-2 4, River Sykes 1 0-0 2, Ryli Bednar 0 0-0 0, Jennabee Harris 1 1-4 3, Eloise Clark 1 0-0 2, Lynnsey Biorn 1 1-2 3. Totals 9 4-12 22.

Clarkston 10 21 17 15—63

Pullman 8 4 5 —22

3-point goals — Perez 2, Wallace, Dempsey, Judy,

———

BOYS

CLARKSTON (6-6, 0-2)

Marcisio Noriega 0 0-0 0, Nathan Sumers 3 1-2 10, Logan Hornby 0 0-0 0, Xander Van Tine 2 2-4 6, Niko Ah Hi 0 0-0 0, Carter Steinwand 3 3-4 11, Josh Hoffman 1 0-0 2, Jason Rinard 0 0-0 0, Ian Moore 2 0-0 2. Totals 11 6-8 33.

PULLMAN (9-4, 3-0)

Gavin Brown 2 1-2 5, Champ Powaukee 5 0-0 13, Alex Bickelhaupt 0 3-4 3, Cade Rogers 6 1-1 16, Cade Hill 0 0-0 0, Kris Schroeder 0 0-0 0, Caleb Northcroft 1 0-0 2, Daniel Kwon 2 1-2 5, Austin Hunt 3 2-2 8. Totals.

Clarkston 10 5 11 7—33

Pullman 18 8 17 9—52

3-point goals — Sumers 3, Steinwand 2, Powaukee 3, Rogers 3,

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