PORT ANGELES — Down by four points with 2:23 left to play, the Peninsula basketball men rallied, outscoring Bellevue 9-0 down the stretch to win 60-55, vaulting themselves into second place all alone in the North Division.
The Pirates’ Colby Jackson was huge at the end of Saturday’s game, with a 3-pointer, a rebound, a steal and two free throws all in the final 2:23. Marky Adams and Trent Warren shot 4 for 4 on their free throws down the stretch to help Jackson and Peninsula seal the win.
The Pirates trailed almost the entire game until the end.
Jackson led the Pirates with 27 points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists. Cameron Burton had 12 points and Eli’sha Sheppard added nine rebounds.
It was the Pirates’ fifth win in their past six games. The win puts Peninsula (7-4, 17-9) a game ahead of Bellevue in second place in the North Division. Peninsula next plays at Skagit Valley (4-7, 10-15) at 7 p.m. Wednesday, then the Pirates come home for games Saturday and Feb. 28 against Whatcom and Edmonds.
The Pirates cannot catch 10-1 Everett for the North title, but these next games are crucial for remaining in second place.
Peninsula 60, Bellevue 55
Bellevue 28 27 — 55
Peninsula 23 37 — 60
Bellevue (55) — Jian 15, Michael 13, Vollmen 7, Shaddle 7, Traore 4, Tilden 4, Shaw 3, Nelson 2.
Peninsula (60) — Jackson 27, Burton 12, Adams 6, Huish 5, Sheppard 4, Warren 4, Crane 2.
Women’s Game
Bellevue 64, Peninsula 57
PORT ANGELES — The Peninsula women entered the fourth quarter ahead by four points, but gave up 23 points in the fourth in a 64-57 loss to Bellevue.
The Pirates were down Saturday by only a point 55-54 with 1:13 left to play, but a clutch 3-pointer by Bellevue’s Sierra Cole and six free throws in the final 73 seconds was the difference for the Bulldogs.
Ashlynn Sharp led the Pirates with four 3-pointers and 26 points. The Piartes’ Jamelia Clark had 18 points and seven rebounds, while Tiffani Smith had nine points.
Peninsula (3-6, 5-16) next plays at Skagit Valley (7-2, 13-11) at 5 p.m. Wednesday, then finish the season with games at home on Saturday and Feb. 28 against Whatcom and Edmonds.
Bellevue 64, Peninsula 57
Bellevue 17 11 13 23 — 64
Peninsula 12 20 13 12 — 57
Bellevue (64) — B. Akoto 16, M. Akoto 14, Cole 14, Dixon 9, Hopkins 8, Tate 3.
Peninsula (57) — Sharp 26, Clark 18, Smith 9, Moore 2, Rodriguez 2.
Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News Peninsula’s Kaelin Crane dunks the ball over the head of Everett’s Max Tilden on Saturday evening in Port Angeles.
Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News Peninsula’s Ashlynn Sharp, center, squeezes between Bellevue’s Kassin Mosbrucker, left, and Melinda Akoto in the first quarter on Saturday in Port Angeles.
