The 2022–23 Pullman High School Greyhounds were not used to trailing after the first quarter, much less trailing by as many as 18 points. Used to blowing teams out all year, Pullman rallied with 18 unanswered points to win and advance directly to the quarterfinals.

“State is a different breed than the regular season so it was good to see us finally settled down,” star senior guard Jaedyn Brown said.

The Pullman Greyhounds (24-0,12-0 Greater Spokane Leauge) beat the R.A. Long High School Lumberjacks (20-5) 63-55 in the first round of the 2A WIAA state tournament hosted by West Valley High School in Spokane.

Pullman scored just 10 points in the first quarter because they were not committed to their sets and were instead passing the ball frantically around the floor, said Pullman head coach Craig Brantner.

Star senior point guard Brown had an electric 32-point outing but got off to an extremely slow start thanks to R.A. Long making it a point to consistently double-team him. Brown had the ball in his hands a fair amount despite the double-teaming but struggled to score or manufacture offense against the Lumberjacks’ defense.

However, once the Greyhounds realized R.A. Long’s obsession with defending Brown’s 3-point shot opened up opportunities inside with open layups and shots off the glass, Pullman exploited and began to play their dominant brand of basketball, Brown said.

“[Runnng sets] takes away some of the freelance stuff that [Jaedyn Brown] gets to do. So that’s a lot of leadership to give up your game a little bit, but it led to him getting some easier shots because we started posting him up too,” Brantner said.

In addition to breaking out for several highlight-reel-worthy plays, Brown cut into the Lumberjacks’ lead by going to the free throw line 17 times and making 14 of his shots.

“I feel confident stepping up and hitting them because it’s not the first ones I’ve shot in the game,” Brown said.

Champ Powaukee got into foul trouble early but not before he could draw a couple of fouls of his own to take shots from the free-throw line.

Powaukee made his first free throw to grant the Greyhounds an early lead but missed his second free throw. Thankfully, 6-foot-11 junior center Austin Hunt kept the ball and got a shot up off the glass to put the Greyhounds up 3-0.

Hunt had an extraordinary game with 9 points and a lot of big plays off the glass to grab rebounds and in the paint to prevent the Lumberjacks from scoring.

Early on, the Lumberjacks capitalized off of their third or fourth chance on one possession to score a huge 3-point shot. Hunt stepped up to grab the board and ensure this did not repeat after halftime.

Brantner said he is surprised Hunt does not get a lot of attention around the state because of his unique physical characteristics and success. He is 6-foot-11 inches tall, 285 pounds and averages 8 points per game.

Brown got his first points of the night off an excellent pass from senior Tanner Barbour to Brown inside, who got a shot up and in right past the Lumberjacks for the and-one.

Brown nailed the free throw but R.A. Long continued to make far more shots than Pullman and built a three-possession lead.

The Greyhounds failed to succeed offensively and saw the West Valley gym full of Pullman High School students cheer, band, parents and fans who made the 90-minute commute up north quiet, however, the Greyhounds began running their sets and getting comfortable in a playoff environment that was practically a home game.

PHS arranged for a bus to transport students from Pullman to Spokane for the game.

“That’s great that our athletic director is willing to get as many kids here as she can. I really appreciate it,” Brantner said.

Late in the first quarter, senior Dane Sykes missed a shot off the glass, grabbed his own rebound and made the shot on the second chance. Despite these great plays, Pullman seemed overwhelmed by an R.A. Long squad that seemed like they just could not miss.

Lonnie Brown Jr. of R.A. Long scored 15 points but got into foul trouble to become a non-factor down the stretch, while Calvin Holden led R.A. Long with 25 points.

R.A. Long began the second quarter by building a commanding 18-point lead. The healthy number of Pullman High School students, cheer, pep band and parents were silent but would soon experience something that would make their 90-minute drive north more than worthwhile.

When all could have seemed lost, Barbour stepped up. As three Lumberjacks swarmed Jaedyn, he pitched the ball to a wide-open Barbour who sunk the 3-pointer from the left corner to break the Greyhounds’ 4-and-a-half-minute scoring drought.

The Greyhounds settled into their offensive sets. In a perfect demonstration of basic basketball and ball movement, Jaedyn Brown. drove and pitched it to junior Caleb Northcroft, who passed the ball inside to Hunt, who snuck the ball into the hands of Sykes for the basket.

Later in the quarter, Jaedyn Brown stole the ball and got the practically Pullman-home crowd on their feet with a fast-break dunk.

Hunt, affectionately known as “Tiny” by PHS, took on a swarm of Lumberjacks all by himself to leap up and snag the and-one basket and nail the free throw.

In perhaps his best game of the season, Tiny proved he could pass when he found Jaedyn Brown inside for the shot off of the glass.

An incredible 13-0 run to end the second quarter left Greyhounds down by just one possession at halftime, trailing 32-29.

The Greyhounds took the lead in the third quarter by playing their brand of basketball. Barbour got a fastbreak dunk of his own and soon after Jaedyn Brown took the ball across midcourt, pitched it to Sykes and promptly caught a sharp pass from Sykes on his way to the rim to give the Greyhounds their first lead since the opening minutes, 40-38 with 2:50 left in the third quarter.

In three more masterful demonstrations of the Greyhound offense at work Hunt, Sykes and Barbour each made beautiful baskets off of masterful ball movement and precise dries to the basket.

Brown hit another three as the Pullman bench was feeling much better than they did midway through the second quarter.

Pullman punctuated the game with a Sykes fast break dunk followed by four more points from Brown who paced Pullman with 32.

Dane Sykes added 12 67-55 first-round win. The Greyhounds stay undefeated and advance forward two rounds directly to the quarterfinals.

Pullman faced Enumclaw Thursday in the quarterfinals of the 2A WIAA State Tournament at the Yakima Valley Sundome.