Pullman’s boys wear down Wolves for state berth

CHENEY – Pullman boys basketball coach Craig Brantner stood at the end line of Eastern Washington University’s Reese Court wearing a self-satisfied smile Saturday night.

“I’m so proud of my kids,” he said. “They played their best game of the year. And they picked a great time to do it.”

The Greyhounds, the Great Northern League regular-season and District 7 champions, treated Wapato like a speed bump on the road to Thursday’s quarterfinal-round matchups at the State 2A tournament in Yakima, dispatching the Wolves 81-51 in their regional game.

Pullman will learn its Thursday opening-day rival in the SunDome following today’s WIAA tournament draw.

Senior Austin Drake opened the game by draining a 3-pointer from the top of the key as Pullman (21-2) led wire-to-wire behind a cat-quick defense that never allowed the Wolves to find an offensive rhythm – forcing 18 turnovers.

“We wanted to disrupt them in the backcourt and I think we were able to do that,” Brantner said. “I was impressed with how quick our guys were, especially Brady Barrett and David Ungerer – we play kind of a two-point guard system and did a nice job.”

Ungerer, a 5-foot-4 sophomore with a motor that’s always running in high gear, had five steals while disrupting the Wapato backcourt. Together with Barrett, a 6-2 junior, they officially dished off seven assists but were credited for more by the Pullman coaching staff.

“David and Brady do a great job of getting me the ball after I’ve set my feet so I can shoot,” Drake said. “I give them all the credit. I’m just shooting the ball.”

With Drake and senior post Ben Pavish setting the defensive tone inside and Barrett and Ungerer wreaking havoc in the open court, the Pullman defense fueled an offensive effort that roared to a 37-22 lead at the half with GNL MVP Corey Langerveld on the bench with two fouls for the entire second quarter.

The Greyhounds doubled the 15-point halftime margin by the final buzzer.

“Wapato is a good team and they can be really streaky on offense, so we didn’t want to let up,” Drake said.

Langerveld played less than 19 minutes in the game but still led all scorers with 25 points. Drake drained four 3-pointers to add 20 points, while Barrett and Pavish added 13 and 12 points, respectively.

Ellensburg took regional’s other berth with a 64-61 win over Toppenish at Cheney HS.