EVERETT — Peninsula College’s Jaylin Reed got fouled taking a 3-point shot with 10 seconds left to play and calmly made three straight free throws to hand the Pirates a badly needed 78-77 road win over Everett.
A loss would have put the Pirates in bad shape for a possible playoff berth. Instead, Wednesday’s victory put the men in position to clinch a playoff berth at home Saturday.
The women, meanwhile, won their ninth in a row by beating Everett 80-67. The women have already clinched a playoff spot.
Back to the men’s game, the men were down by 11, 58-47, with 12 minutes left when Reed got hot. Reed hit 5-of-7 3-pointers, shot 7-of-7 from the free-throw line and scored 24 of his 28 points in the second half.
Everett had two more chances to score after Reed’s free throws, but the Peninsula defense got two stops in a row and forced the Trojans into a wild last-second shot.
“Our guys fought like hell,” said coach Donald Rollman. “This was the first time all year our backs have really been against the wall.”
The men entered the game in a three-way tie for third in the North Region and are still in a three-way tie with Bellevue and Shoreline.
The game continued an odd and consistent pattern by the Pirates. It was the eighth game in a row with alternating wins and losses.
“It’s frustrating. We’ve tried to figure that out. I give our guys a lot of credit to not let that break us,” Rollman said.
In addition to his points, Reed also led the Pirates with nine rebounds. Roosevelt Williams Jr. scored 17 and Rashawn Harris scored 16.
Peninsula 78, Everett 77
PC 39 39 — 78
Ever. 44 33 — 77
Peninsula (78) — Reed 28, Williams 17, Harris 16, Dean 4, Sampson 4, Garcia 3, Hunter-Holiday 2, McCullough 2, Moore 2.
Everett (77) — Sayers 22, Quantrille 12, Smith 11, Dillworth 10, Redford 8, McEnroe 4, MacArthur 4, Millican 3, Zamora 2.
Women’s game
The women’s game was not as close as the final score indicated as the Pirates were up 80-60 with two minutes left. Everett never got closer than 12 points in the second half.
Though the women have clinched a playoff berth, coach Alison Crumb said the Pirates aren’t satisfied. They are gunning for a North Region title and as high of a seed as possible.
“We’re treating every game like a playoff game,” she said. “The girls are buying into that message.”
The women won again while not shooting that great from outside (4-for-17 from 3-point range), but relying on their strengths such as rebounding (41 to 29) inside game (44 points to 20) and points off turnovers (30 to 11).
Crumb said the Pirates can hit outside shots if they take the right shots in rhythm, but that their game isn’t to try and outshoot other teams.
“Our game is trying to beat people in the open court,” she said.
Keeli-Jade Smith led the team with 19 points, while Itaua Tuisaula had 18 points and 12 rebounds. Port Angeles’ Millie Long had 15 points, seven rebounds and five steals, while Sequim’s Hope Glasser had nine points and eight rebounds.
With the win, the women remain all alone in first place with an 11-1 record in the North Region. They are 17-3 overall.
A Peninsula win Saturday gives the Pirates a share of the North Region championship.
The women host Bellevue (3-9, 6-13) at 4 p.m. Saturday. The men (7-5, 15-9) play Bellevue (7-5, 17-7) at 6 p.m.
Peninsula 80, Everett 67
PC 19 21 19 21 — 80
Ever. 9 18 14 26 — 67
Peninsula (80) — Smith 19, Tuisaula 18, Long 15, Glasser 9, Camacho-Villafuerte 8, Kaganak 5, Kamae 4, Brown 2.
Everett (67) — Thoma 22, Perry 13, VanNess 12, Tran 9, Montez 7, Gallatin 4.
