The Hornets sting was not enough to take down the Greyhounds, as No. 1 seeded Pullman (25-0) took down No. 10 seed Enumclaw (22-4) in Thursday’s quarterfinal matchup of the 2A Washington Interscholastic Activities Association Boy’s Basketball Tournament.

Played on a neutral sight in the Yakima Sundome, the Greyhounds were never down by more than 4 points and pulled away late in the second half to continue their undefeated season with a 54-40 win.

Pullman shared the rock in the game, as six players scored in the game, with three scoring 9 or more. Jaedyn Brown led the scoring with 23, including four made 3-pointers, Champ Powaukee scored 15 and Dane Sykes had 9, including 7 in the first half.

Powaukee was coming off a game against R.A. Long where he was in foul trouble throughout the entire game and was unable to find his groove. Head coach Craig Brantner said that in this game he was able to find his confidence quickly and get back into the offensive flow.

“He is always confident, he was looking to get back in a rhythm and I think he did that early, got some confidence going and played really well tonight,” Brantner said.

Sykes added two assists and six rebounds to his 9 points in his 32 minutes of action.

“I feel like I did good today, came out, played my role and did what I needed to do to help my team win,” Sykes said.

Brown had eight rebounds of his own, along with two steals. Austin Hunt tied Brown in the team lead of rebounds with eight of his own, three of which came on the offensive end of the floor.

Defensively, Hunt had two blocks, both came in the second half of the game and cemented the momentum the Greyhounds built up.

“Austin did a great job at just changing shots when they got them. He was able to challenge the penetration and then challenge his man [on a pass out],” Brantner said.

Other than Hunt’s two blocks, Pullman had five steals as a team and held the Hornets to just 40 points, tied for the fourth-least amount of points given up in a game this season.

“Defensively, we rose to the challenge a little bit. Giving up 40 points in a state game is just good defense,” Brantner said.

Entering the fourth quarter, Pullman held a 40-33 lead, and to start the final quarter, neither team’s shots were falling. The first shot to fall was not until 4:23 was left in the quarter, as Powaukee hit a 3-pointer to increase the lead.

When asked about the team’s mentality during the dry scoring stretch, Sykes said the team stuck to their principles and just did not get too flustered up, focusing on the defensive end to maintain the lead.

Brown hit a dagger 3-pointer with 1:03 to go, giving him his 23rd point in the game, and giving the Greyhounds a 52-37 lead. The last points from the Greyhounds came from a Tanner Barbour dunk on a fastbreak and the team had locked their ticket to the semi-finals.

Pullman takes on No. 4 seeded Mark Morris in the first semi-finals match of the 2A Tournament at 3:45 p.m. Friday in the Yakima Sundome.

“Just take nothing for granted, go into every game knowing it’s going to be a battle,” Sykes said on the upcoming matchup.