BELLEVUE — It wasn’t exactly the way a team would like to close out a contest, but the Peninsula College men survived the final moments and came away with a difficult road win Wednesday in a 70-68 NWAC North Region triumph over Bellevue.
Bellevue’s final possession got the ball deep inside the key but Daniel Kabamba’s short shot attempt was off at the buzzer and Peninsula walked off with its first conference win.
Up 69-60 with 2:14 to play, the Pirates collectively missed four-of-five free throws, turned the ball over twice and committed a shooting foul to bring the Bulldogs to the free-throw line for untimed freebies.
Peninsula’s Jaiden Blackmon turned in a 36-point performance to lead all scorers, but had the two giveaways in the final moments to keep Bellevue in the ballgame. Blackmon shot 70-percent from the floor, knocking down 14-of-20 shots, including 3-of-7 from beyond the arc. He also had eight rebounds, four assists and a steal.
Akeem Sulaiman was a presence inside with 11 points, six rebounds, four blocks and a steal.
Peninsula (1-2, 7-9) visits Olympic at 4 p.m. Saturday.
Peninsula 70, Bellevue 68
Peninsula 32 38— 60
Bellevue 29 39 — 68
Peninsula (70) — Blackmon 36, Sulaiman 11, Lopez 9, Odum 7, Rosenlund 3, Rushmeyer 2, Heitsch 2, McNeal.
Bellevue (68) — Usitalo 27, White 19, Etheridge 8, Brown 6, Dabasinksas 4, Gale 2, Ibarra 2.
Peninsula 71, Bellevue 62
BELLEVUE — A furious second-half comeback preserved the Pirates’ 30-game NWAC North winning streak.
Peninsula (4-0, 13-2) hasn’t lost a North Region conference game since a 65-55 loss to Shoreline Jan. 14, 2023.
Alexa Mackey scored 15 of her Peninsula-high 21 points after halftime, including a 10-point fourth quarter as the Pirates erased a 40-30 halftime deficit.
Neah Bay’s Ryana Moss notched a buzzer-beating bucket to put Peninsula within 47-46 heading to the final frame. Moss had 10 points in the game.
The Pirates opened up the contest at the free throw line, knocking down 9-of-12 shots in the fourth quarter.
Peninsula 71, Bellevue 62
Peninsula 19 11 16 25 — 71
Bellevue 15 25 7 15 — 62
Peninsula (71) — Mackey 21, Moananu 14, Agasiva 11, Moss 10, Ragsdale 6, O’Brien 5, Patrick 4, Wood, Miller.
Bellevue (62) — Peter 24, Warns 17, Calloway 13, Turner 3, Myers 2, Auelua 2, Ramadan 1.
