Pullman falters against Columbia River in quarterfinals | State 2A boys

YAKIMA – The fourth-seeded Pullman boys basketball team found out a couple truths in Thursday’s late-afternoon quarterfinal against No. 11 Columbia River.

First, the Rapids were underseeded.

And second, having an extra day – even if your season is on the line – might not be such a bad thing.

The Greater Spokane League 2A regular-season and district champions Greyhounds started quickly before a lengthy Rapids run became too much to dig themselves out of in a 54-48 loss in the Class 2A state tournament in the Yakima Valley SunDome.

“I think getting to play that first game and getting to feel that out and get some shots up doesn’t hurt anybody,” Pullman coach Craig Brantner said. “You’re in a loser-out situation, but if you win that, you’ve played in here and you get the feeling of the game.

“I thought that was a little bit of an advantage for them in the first half. After that we figured it out.”

By then, however, the Greyhounds had seen their 9-2 lead become a 21-point deficit when Columbia River went on a 26-0 run.

Pullman clawed its way back, and trimmed the lead to less than 10 early in the fourth.

Down seven with half-a-minute remaining, Vaughn Holstad drained a 3-pointer. It was the only trey for the Greyhounds, and they would get no closer.

“This is a hard place to shoot,” Brantner said. “We were 1-for-18 from the 3-point line, so if we shoot our average from the 3 we have a pretty good game.”

Holstad and Gavyn Dealy each had 16 points for Pullman, and Cade Rogers added nine points and 10 rebounds.

It’ll be a matchup of Greyhounds at 12:15 p.m. Friday for a spot in the trophy round when Pullman (19-4) meets seventh-seeded Grandview. The CWAC district champions fell to top-seeded and defending champions Bremerton.