PORT ANGELES — The final play didn’t go as planned, so J.T. Terrell just let his instincts take over.
Luckily for the Peninsula College men’s basketball team, the 6-foot-3 sophomore has a knack for finding ways to score.
Terrell banked in a 15-foot fadeaway with 13 seconds left, and guard Daniel Sims came up with a steal on the other end to boost the Pirates to a 92-89 victory over the Olympic Rangers on Wednesday night.
It was the fourth straight win for the third-ranked Pirates (6-1 in North, 16-2 overall), who are a half-game back of No. 1 Bellevue in the NWAACC North Division standings.
“We had actually drawn up an inbound play, but they guarded it well,” Peninsula College coach Lance Von Vogt said.
“After that we just kind of cleared out a little bit for [Terrell] and let him dribble-operate and do what he does.”
Prolific scorer
As many teams in the NWAACC North Division have learned already this season, what Terrell does is put the ball in the hoop.
The University of Southern California recruit hit 12 of 23 shots from the field, throwing in a variety of floaters, layups, pull-up jumpers and even a trio of 3-pointers on the way to a game-high 35 points.
It marked the eighth time this season that Terrell has scored 30 or more, including a 34-point night against Shoreline the last time the Pirates were on the floor.
“He’s a special offensive player,” Von Vogt said.
“He can score at three different levels: right at the basket, the midrange — which was the game winner — and he can hit them from behind the 3-point line.
“You’re kind of put in a trick bag when you’re guarding him.”
Olympic sophomore Cartiea French-Toney did an admirable job guarding Terrell on the final play.
After cutting off Terrell’s path to the basket on a back cut, he stayed right on Terrell’s hip as he drove left toward the baseline and pulled up for the off-balance shot.
Of course, that didn’t keep Terrell from kissing the shot off the glass and in for the eventual game-winner. He then turned to the crowd and started handing out high fives as Olympic called a timeout.
“The defensive guy got a hand on [the pass] and then after that I just did what I felt,” Terrell said.
“I got a midrange jump shot up, it fell off the glass. I’ll take that. I was going glass just to be safe.”
French-Toney had a chance at an equalizer on the other end but had the ball stolen away by Sims, who then dribbled out the clock before getting fouled with 0.6 seconds left and hitting a free throw.
The big defensive play capped a wild finish that saw two lead changes and three ties in the final four minutes.
The last of those ties came after Olympic guard Tyree Bagley sank a clutch 3-pointer with 41 seconds remaining to knot things up at 89.
“It’s great to have an opportunity to play in a close game, because then you get a chance to figure out how to win,” Von Vogt said.
‘“Look at the clock and we’re down three with 3 minutes and 5 seconds to play. I said, ‘All right guys, we’re going to find out what we’re made out of.’
“They responded and did what they needed to do to get enough stops and make enough baskets so we could win the game.”
Sophomore post DeShaun Freeman scored 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds coming off a knee injury for the Pirates.
Reserve forward Corey Clement scored 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting off the bench, including a critical 3-pointer from the top of the key with 1:31 to go that put Peninsula ahead 87-83.
Point guard Sam Waller submitted his third straight double-digit assists night, dishing out 11 assists while also scoring eight points.
Dudley Ewell added eight points, eight rebounds and three assists, while Tyler Funk had six points and seven assists.
Peninsula had 28 assists as a team while turning the ball over just nine times all game.
“We’re playing pretty good together,” Terrell said. “You can tell we’re a lot better team than what we were from the start. We still got a lot to work on, though.”
That was certainly evident during the first half when the Rangers went ahead by as many as 12 points.
Peninsula rallied back with a 21-9 run to tie things up at 41 with 23 second left in the half, but Mauricio Modestin knocked down a pair of free throws to give Olympic a 43-41 halftime edge.
Olympic had 26 assists of its own, with French-Toney accounting for 12 by himself and also scoring 16 points while attacking the rim with regularity.
Forward Tre Haslom added 17 points, 14 of which came during a first half, Modestin poured in 19 points and undersized forward Josh Koets had 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Peninsula surged ahead by seven points twice in the second half on a pair of 3-pointers from Funk. The last one put the Pirates on top 74-67 with 7:20 to play.
But as was the case all game, the Rangers fought back with a 7-3 run to tie things up at 77-all and set up the late-game dramatics.
“I’ve got to give Olympic credit, they played terrifically,” Von Vogt said.
“They responded every time we got a lead in the second half, they hit shots to comeback continually, big shot after big shot. Their guys played their hearts out.”
That was hardly a comfort to Olympic coach Barry Janusch.
His team has now lost to the first- and third-ranked teams in the NWAACC by a combined five points but still finds itself 1-4 in the North and 4-11 overall.
“My hat goes off to Peninsula,” Janusch said.
“J.T. hit a tough shot. We played good D on him. He’s a hell of a player.
“French did a great job on him, and he’s a great player, and great players make great plays.”
Peninsula 92, Olympic 89
Olympic 43 46 — 89
Peninsula 41 51 — 92
Individual scoring
Olympic (89)
French-Toney 16, Modestin 19, Koets 16, Bagley 7, Sanders 2, Foster 6, Haslom 17, Hoard 2, Mack 4.
Peninsula (92)
Freeman 20, Ewell 8, Sims 1, Funk 6, Terrell 35, Waller 8, Clement 14.
