MOSCOW - There's little doubt basketball genes run in the Allen family.

A day after Vandal guard and elder brother Trevon helped Idaho claim a commanding win in the Battle of the Palouse, younger brother Tru delivered a spectacular performance of his own in another interstate meeting in Moscow. The Clarkston sophomore posted 26 points on 8-for-13 shooting to lead the Bantams to a 55-40 nonleague victory Thursday night at the Bear Den.

The Clarkston girls also pulled off a 66-56 victory over Moscow during the doubleheader.

Trevon was on hand for his brother's dominant performance, watching from the upper row of the bleachers as his former high school cruised to an early lead.

"Two kinds of different players, but they have the same commonality - they're gamers," Clarkston coach Justin Jones said of the brothers. "When the ball goes up in the air, they both know how to compete at a very high level and they make plays. ... It's always good to see Trevon up here, he's a big influence on all these players, not just his brother."

Tru Allen's only impediment was a rough second quarter in which he was held to two baskets. But the sophomore still delivered an impressive play when a defensive lapse left him unguarded at the top of the key. The Clarkston standout calmly pulled up from downtown and swished a 22-foot shot to give his squad a 26-13 lead at the break.

"They really slowed the game down," Moscow coach Josh Uhrig said of the Bantams. "We really want to be up-tempo, but they took the air out of the ball. ... We got a little lethargic, so we've got to learn how to play in these slow types of games."

Despite the substantial deficit, Moscow (1-1) rallied and cut the lead to single digits in the fourth quarter when Gabe Quinnett drove to the key and finished with a fingertip roll NBA icon George "Iceman" Gervin would have been proud of. On the next possession, Quinnett tossed a pass behind his back to Benny Kitchel, who connected on a shot from the post to trim the deficit to 38-32.

"Benny was actually kicking out for a 3 and luckily he saw it coming," Uhrig said. "He snagged it and finished at the rim, so it worked out fine."

The game ultimately came down to a rebounding battle in the paint - an element the Bantams controlled all night. Clarkston pulled down four offensive boards on a single fourth-quarter possession before Tru Allen found the net on a short bucket to regain a double-digit advantage for the Bantams.

"His overall maturity level as a leader has really taken a big jump," Jones said of his sophomore guard. "He played with nine seniors last year, so he didn't have to do that. He's a really great talent, but he also has a great leadership style to him."

With no shot clock, the Bantams opted for a slow and methodical pace in the final three minutes of play, using crisp ball movement to create free space in the paint and force the Bears to foul. The approach paid off, as Clarkston shot nearly 70 percent from the charity stripe to pull away for the win.

"We had a couple lazy turnovers, we need to keep improving on our shot selection," Uhrig said. "I thought we took good shots, but when we needed them, I thought we got a little rushed."

Clarkston travels to East Valley tonight for the squad's first Great Northern League matchup of the season. Meanwhile, Moscow will make the short drive to Pullman for a 7 p.m. rivalry meeting.

CLARKSTON (1-1)

Tru Allen 8-13 9-10 26, Austin Roueche 0-2 6-7 6, Jaxson Allen 1-1 0-0 2, Nate Savolainen 0-1 0-0 0, Gus Hagstead 1-2 2-2 4, Alex Italia 1-1 3-7 5, Taylor Garrett 1-2 0-2 2, Kaeden Frazier 1-4 0-0 2, Colton Dudley 1-3 0-0 2, Branton Chatfield 3-8 0-1 6, Brendan Reed 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-38 20-29 55.

MOSCOW (1-1)

Anthony Lopez 0-0 0-0 0, Cooper Stephens 1-6 0-2 2, Peyton Broenneke 1-5 1-3 3, Danny Johnson 4-5 1-2 9, Ryan Makamson 0-0 0-0 0, Gabe Quinnett 3-13 0-0 8, Derek Rauch-Edwards 1-2 2-5 4, Ben Postell 1-3 0-4 2, Nick Pancheri 0-0 0-0 0, Benny Kitchel 4-6 1-2 12. Totals 15-40 5-18 40.

Clarkston 17 9 10 19-55

Moscow 7 6 12 15-40

Three-point goals - Allen, Quinnett 2, Kitchel 3. Total fouls - Clarkston 17, Moscow 21. Fouled out - Stephens, Savolainen.

JV - Moscow 52, Clarkston 38

GIRLS

Clarkston 66, Moscow 56

It was almost one of the greatest comebacks in Moscow High girls' basketball history, until Ashlyn Wallace decided to shut it down.

The Bears, facing a 21-point deficit midway through the second quarter, roared back to life to cut the Clarkston lead to two points in the final moments of the third quarter. But timely shooting from the freshman guard helped the Bantams regain momentum and pull off a 66-56 road win at the Bear Den.

"Just real thrilled to come away from here with a win, Moscow is a really well-coached team," Clarkston coach Debbie Sobotta said. "I have a lot of respect for Robin (Barnes); it really looks like her girls have bought into her philosophy."

The Bantams (2-0) used a fast-break offense and a full-court press to gain an early advantage, holding the Bears (1-4) without a basket for more than nine minutes of play.

"I think when we start, it takes a team a while to get used to our type of press," Sobotta said. "I feel like we kind of jumped on them a little bit in the beginning. Ashlyn was hot from 3-point land tonight, she had her shot going on, so that really brings their defense out and we can attack."

Gracey Meyer gave Moscow a breath of life with a baseline jumper at the 5:22 mark of the second period, and the senior post followed with 3-pointers on two of the next three possessions to launch a comeback effort for the Bears.

"I think some of her (shots) came off rebound putbacks," Barnes said of Meyer. "I think we had some good passes inside to her and we saw when she had that one-on-one opportunities there."

Hannah Broyles helped trim the deficit to single digits after the break, converting a midrange jumper inside the key which cut the lead to 40-31. The Moscow junior also wrestled the ball away for a steal and made another basket while being fouled for an and-one opportunity.

"Hannah had a run for a bit there, she's just so athletic," Barnes said. "Sometimes we do really good things and then we'll kind of do something that's not very positive."

Moscow had a chance to take the lead in the closing seconds of the third quarter, but Katie Kitchel's 3-point attempt rattled out of the basket and Clarkston capitalized with a fast-break bucket before the buzzer to claim a 52-48 advantage.

"I look back at the ball rattling out, and it's just the whole mental toughness piece," Barnes said. "You've got to accept the result of the shot and play on. I think we started to let down right after that."

Midway through the fourth quarter, Wallace drilled a dagger trey to give the Bantams a double-digit lead the team would hold for the remainder of the contest.

"It was a big confidence boost for us that got the momentum swinging in our favor," Sobotta said of the shot.

Clarkston returns to the court tonight for a road meeting with East Valley while Moscow crosses the border for its annual rivalry game with Pullman. Both games will tip off at 5:30 p.m.

CLARKSTON (2-0)

Ashlyn Wallace 8-11 5-8 25, Anna Sharp 0-2 1-2 1, Makinzie Packwood 4-9 1-2 8, Allie Jones 2-6 1-2 5, Mikayla Hill 0-2 0-0 0, A.J. Sobotta 2-5 2-4 9, Lauren Johnson 5-6 0-2 10, Mick Jackson 1-3 0-0 2, Jalena Henry 2-2 0-0 4, Maxine White Temple 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 25-47 9-14 66.

MOSCOW (1-4)

Megan Watson 0-0 0-0 0, Makena Rauch 1-3 0-0 2, Hannah Broyles 9-17 8-8 27, Payton Claus 0-0 0-0 0, Sidney Carscallen 2-7 0-0 6, Gracey Meyer 6-12 6-6 19, Rhea Anderson 0-1 0-0 0, Blayne Waters 0-0 0-0 0, Megan Jung 0-11 0-0 0, Katie Kitchel 1-9, 0-0 2. Totals 19-60 14-14 56.

Clarkston 21 15 6 24-66

Moscow 2 15 21 18-56

Three-point goals - Wallace 4, Sobotta 2, Broyles, Carscallen 2, Meyer. Total fouls - Clarkston 15, Moscow 17. Fouled out - none.

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Joshua Grissom can be reached at jgrissom@dnews.com or on Twitter @JoshuaGNews.