Jan 20, 2016 4 min read

BROWNSVILLE – Watching Washington High School’s offense can be poetry in motion – the Prexies often showcase precise guard play, discipline with shot selection and rarely force the basketball to one particular player.

The same group that can wow opposing fans can also look tentative and on some nights, opportunities are wasted. As the season has progressed, one trend has become glaring – when Markel Pulliam and Matt Popeck are playing their best, few opponents can stop Wash High.

Brownsville learned about the guard tandem Tuesday night.

Cutting through the lane for easy layups and rarely forcing a shot, the duo combined for 55 points to help Wash High secure a 80-55 non-section win over Brownsville – the first-place team in Section 4-AA.

Pulliam, a senior, had a game-high 29 points and Popeck, a junior, added 26 for the Prexies (11-5), who held the Falcons to just 21 second-half points and were 15 for 22 from the field in the final 16 minutes.

“They’re very athletic and they need to be more aware of that,” Wash High head coach Ron Faust said of his guards. “I’m not sure they’re as aware as we are on how good they can be, and how important they are to run things for us.”

They were certainly key to the game plan against Brownsville (12-4). Facing two left-handed guards, Pulliam, who is right handed, worked with Popeck to force the Falcons’ tandem to the weak side; often leading to turnovers and points in transition. Wash High held three of Brownsville’s four starting guards to under nine points.

The game plan required perfect execution and the discipline Faust has emphasized after every game – win or loss. Wash High, which has now won eight consecutive games, had to find a way to score against Brownsville senior forward Noah Brown, one of the top post players in Class AA who is averaging more than 25 points per game.

Though Brown excelled on offense with 25 points, the Prexies discovered the formula on how to scheme against the 6-3 force in the lane, moving him to the top of the key.

“They were overplaying us on defense, so we’re always taught to go backdoor,” Pulliam said.

“We kept cutting it back, it kept opening up and bringing Brown up top. That left the lane open and the guards couldn’t guard us going to the hole.”

The two teams were tied 21-21 at the end of the first quarter, but Brownsville shot just 4 of 13 from the field in the second quarter, forcing altered shots and it couldn’t find a way to stop Wash High’s guards.

Pulliam had 12 second-quarter points to help the Prexies grab a seven-point lead at halftime. With some help from the Falcons, Wash High went on a 9-2 run to start the third quarter to pull away.

“Wash High played a great second half,” Brownsville head coach Brian Brashear said. “We tried to do too much on offense and they made us pay. They have a really good team and we just didn’t play very well tonight.”

During a 26-point third quarter, Wash High senior forward Nate Swart had seven of his 11 points and held Brown to four points until foul trouble forced him from the game. That led to Faust piecing together a lineup for the second half and despite facing an offense that averaged 83.8 points during its last four games, Wash High held the Falcons to six in the fourth quarter.

Brownsville trailed by 10 points with just over two minutes remaining in the third, but Wash High continued to draw Brown out of the lane with Pulliam and Popeck doing most of the damage, combining for 17 of Wash High’s final 21 points.

Faust is hoping the same formula and this same offense is present Friday night, when Wash High faces Bishop Canevin. A win would tie the Crusaders for first place in Section 3-AA.

“We’re Jekyll and Hyde. Sometimes we play and when we play, we’re pretty good,” Faust said. “Other times we kind of float, lose focus and we’re not very good. Hopefully here at some point we’ll get a true focus and see how good we can be, but we’re running short on time; it’s getting close to February.”