MOUNT VERNON — Peninsula College brought the fire in its first men’s basketball game in more than a year, but the focus was a bit off late in a 71-68 overtime loss at Skagit Valley.
In other action, the Pirate women fell 51-36.
Peninsula rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit in the men’s game to take the lead in the second half.
“After the first half, it was all about getting the nerves out,” Pirates coach Donald Rollman said.
We shot the ball terribly in the first half and for the game, but we walked in the locker room and took three big deep breaths to get it out of our system.”
Rollman credited a boost in his team’s defensive intensity for an 18-2 run that gave Peninsula a 47-42 lead.
“Our defensive intensity picked up; we made things tougher on them,” he said. “It’s been so long since we played. You want to find the fine line where you are not overly excited and making mistakes, but you have the energy you want and are executing.”
The energy was there at the end, but what Rollman described as some “silly mistakes” hurt the Pirates late.
“We have worked really hard for six months [in practice] on the details, and that’s what hurt us late and in overtime,” Rollman said.
Peninsula had the ball with a chance to tie in the final 15 seconds but couldn’t find Garcia, who had an open look at a 3-pointer. Garcia tied with Jaylin Reed for the team high with 17 points off the bench, and Isaiah Sampson had 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Rollman chalked up the late miscues to a lack of game experience, something that will only improve as the season wears on.
Women fall
The injury-plagued Pirate women had a rough night shooting from the field in their 15-point loss.
Peninsula shot 20 percent from the floor and 21 percent from beyond the arc.
The Pirates trailed 25-18 after two quarters, but Skagit Valley pulled away in the third to go up 17 entering the fourth.
Keeli-Jade Smith led the Pirates with 10 points, and Sequim’s Hope Glasser debuted with eight points and five rebounds.
“They were really excited but almost too overwhelmed [with playing a live game],” Peninsula coach Alison Crumb said.
“They were not used to practicing that long [six months] without a game.”
Crumb said she liked her team’s energy and their defensive rotations.
“As long as you work hard and battle and I thought they played hard and competed,” Crumb said. “We have a lot of speed, we are very athletic, but we don’t have a lot of height, so we can be super disruptive.”
Freeman at Skagit
Rollman said he spoke with former Peninsula College men’s coach Mitch Freeman, who is now in his first year as Cardinals athletic director.
Rollman was an assistant under Freeman for the Pirates.
“We’ve stayed in touch; he’s been a mentor to me, and it’s cool to see him doing great and have him back home closer to family,” Rollman said. “We texted a little bit after the game, and he said he has a new view from the other side. He told me, ‘You coaches are crazy people.’ ”
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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-406-0674 or mcarman@peninsuladaily news.com.
Peninsula’s Amari Brown puts up a runner over the defense of Skagit Valley’s Melissa Frien during the Pirates’ 51-36 road loss. (Rick Ross/Peninsula College)
