BELLEVUE — Impressive performances by freshmen guards Jaylin Moore and Everett Torres-Kahapea, and some important late-game free-throw shooting lifted Peninsula to an 82-79 NWAC North men’s basketball win over Bellevue.
The road win was the NWAC division opener for the Pirates (1-0, 11-2) and Bulldogs (0-1, 1-14).
“You try and tell the team about the difference between nonconference and conference play and how much each game means,” Peninsula coach Donald Rollman said.
“This was so important for us to have freshmen step up for us.”
The Pirates led by as much as nine in the final five minutes, but some turnovers and quick shot attempts let Bellevue come within as close as three. Rollman said the team was money at the line down the stretch.
Moore hit for a Peninsula-high 23 points, connecting on 2 of 4 3-point tries and 9 of 10 at the free-throw line, while also grabbing 11 rebounds.
“Jaylin had a big night all the way around. He keeps getting better and better,” Rollman said.
Torres-Kahapea came off the bench to score 17 points, knocking down all three 3-point attempts and making 6 of 8 at the charity stripe.
“He came into the game hot and hit for five points in his first three minutes and didn’t let up,” Rollman said.
The guards’ contributions were especially needed with Bellevue focusing on shutting down Peninsula’s Davien Harris-Williams. Williams had a tough night shooting, hitting 6 of 21 from the floor, but hit for 14 points, four rebounds, three assists and a steal.
Malik Moore had a huge night on the offensive and defensive glass. Moore scored 10 with 16 rebounds — eight offensive and eight defensive.
“That’s Malik being Malik right there. He battled his butt off,” Rollman said.
The Pirates host Edmonds (1-0, 9-6) at 6 p.m. Saturday.
Peninsula 82, Bellevue 79
Peninsula 39 43 — 82
Bellevue 36 43 — 79
Peninsula (82) — Reed 23, Torres-Kahapea 17, Harris-Williams 14, Moore 10, Artis 5, Hunter-Holiday 5, Thomas 4, Long 2, Despain 2, Gatluak.
Bellevue (79) — Richmond 28, Rodde 18, Womack 13, Hood 8, Clark 6, Lawrence 4, Moujaes 2.
Women’s Basketball
Peninsula 66, Bellevue 63, OT
BELLEVUE — The Pirates rallied from a 6-point deficit to force overtime in the final 1:01 of the fourth quarter and held off the Bulldogs in the extra period to win their NWAC North opener.
Sunshine Vicente hit the game-tying basket with 3 seconds left in regulation to force the extra period.
She also had a crucial steal with 25 seconds left and an offensive rebound with seven seconds to play.
She finished with 11 points, four steals, four rebounds and three assists off the bench for Peninsula.
Leilani Padilla’s 3-point make with a little more than a minute to go in overtime stood up as the eventual game-winning bucket for the Pirates. Padilla had eight points and 10 rebounds in the game.
Casandra White led a balanced Peninsula offense with 12 points, while Kameron Bowen (11), Logan Luke (10) also reached double digits.
Peninsula hosts Edmonds (1-0, 4-6) at 4 p.m. Saturday.
Peninsula 66, Bellevue 63, OT
Peninsula 19 16 6 17 8— 66
Bellevue 18 6 22 12 5— 63
Peninsula (66) — White 12, Bowen 11, Luke 10, Johnson 8, Padilla 8, Vicente 11, Brown 6, McCaulley, Fitzgerald, Ontiveros.
Bellevue (63) — Brown 15, Bungay 11, Amos 10, Luckett 9, Faulkner 7, Clabby 6, Rutledge 3, Laut 2.
________
Sports reporter/columnist Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
