EPHRATA — The Ephrata High School boys basketball team played tough in the second half, but couldn’t overcome an early deficit and lost to Pullman High School, 56-48, in the Tigers’ home opener Saturday.

The Greyhounds maintained a lead throughout the first half; the Tigers tied the score at 10 apiece with 1:48 left in the first quarter, but Pullman had a 15-12 lead at the end of the quarter and led 30-22 at the half. Ephrata Coach Rick Walter said a slow start is a problem the Tigers will have to address. 

“We’re just finding ourselves in a hole early. We’re not coming out ready to play,” Walter said. “So we’ve got to get that fixed.”

The Greyhounds maintained a lead of about nine points through the third quarter; the Tigers had some chances but missed some shots. 

“But for two and a half quarters, I’d say, we were even. You just can’t get behind by 10 early and try to scrap back. I thought we had some guys who did some really good things. A few more shots go in and it’s a different game,” Walter said.

Ephrata cut the lead to five, 51-46, with 3:38 left in the game after a drive down the lane by senior forward Hans Roberts. But Pullman answered, pushing the lead back to eight by the end of the game.

Walter said he saw some encouraging signs.

“I thought everybody who came off the bench played well. They gave some good minutes,” he said. “I think some of our starters got to what we want them to do. And it all came with ball movement at the end, we had some guys going downhill to the rim, which is really good, and they were finishing. And we actually threw the right pass to shooters and made some shots. And we weren’t doing that early. We were kind of over-dribbling and trying to force the issue a little bit.”

The Tigers shot poorly from the foul line, Walter said, which made a difference in the final score.

“We were close, we had it at two possessions - but again, you can’t play perfect down the stretch. We’ve got to figure out a way to be in it early. We’re digging a hole early and having to dig out,” he said.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at [email protected].

    Forward Jaxson Elliot (40) takes the shot in Ephrata’s game Saturday against Pullman.
  

      

    Ephrata guard Cameron Zabala (22) tests the Pullman defense in the Tigers’ 56-48 loss Saturday.
  

    Ephrata forward Brady Hendrick (44) looks to pass in the Tigers’ game Saturday against Pullman.