La Grande, Ore. – You could see the anticipation set in on the Walla Walla men's basketball team as they loaded the bus for day one of the Quinn Classic Tournament at Eastern Oregon University. No one had hit the hardwood for a meaningful minute in what seemed like an eternity, as it had been 613 days since the last Wolves game had been played.
For junior
Zayne Browning, it had been 975-plus days since he last played a meaningful minute, while his brother and captain
Dylan Browning registered in at 600-plus days. For the remaining nine players that suited up, they were hoping to begin their first collegiate action with a win against the Pacific Union College (PUC) Pioneers, as they set sight on bragging rights between another Seventh-Day Adventists (SDA) university.
The Wolves rode a 10-0 run in the middle of the second half that spanned just over four minutes to build a 14 point lead for some breathing room. Despite Pioneers fighting back over the next 10-plus minutes, the Wolves, with a career-night from
Zayne Browning and the clock on their side, escaped with a 104-96 barn burner for the first victory of their 2019-20 campaign.
"It felt great to be back out there," said forward
Dylan Browning. "We are a young team and those guys stepped up and played well today. It's a great way to start the season with a win!"
"This team has been through a lot so finally being able to forget about all that and just play felt great," said junior
Zayne Browning. "On top of that, we went out and got a good team win tonight."
THE BASICS:
Final: PUC 96, WWU 104
Records: PUC (0-2), Walla Walla (1-0)
GAME NOTES:
- The Pioneers raced out of the gates early, building a 9-1 lead in the first two-plus minutes off three 3-pointers. The Wolves, however, regrouped on the shoulders of Dylan Browning and six quick points. The rest of the first-half was played neck-and-neck as the Wolves were able to recover from their early first-half rust to enter the break with a 51-47 lead.
- With the Pioneers having to play catch-up, the Wolves seemed to answer every blow the Pioneers tossed their way. Despite only holding a slim two-point lead early in the second half, the Wolves time-and-time again throughout the second half found an answer on any Pioneer run they seemed to start.
- With one last desperation to get back into the game, PUC put on the press for the last four minutes of the game in hopes of cutting into the 12-point lead the Wolves had built. Despite the pressure, the Wolves collected some fouls and calmly hit 6-8 from the free-throw line to ice the game. The Wolves went on to hold the lead for the entire second half.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHTS:
- Zayne Browning recorded a career-high 32 points, tying the CCC school-record of 32 points set in 2016 by Ryan Spady. Browning's previous high (23) was set back in January of 2017 against Multnomah University. Also, Browning recorded career-highs in both free-throws made (12) and attempted (16).
- As a team, the Wolves set a CCC school-record for the most made free throws (28) in a game and shot just under 73 percent on the game.
- KiAndre Gaddy led the Wolves' newcomers, notching a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
NEXT GAME:
The Wolves continue day two of the tournament Saturday at 8:30 p.m. when they take on Westcliff University at tournament host Eastern Oregon University in the Quinn Coliseum.
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