BELLINGHAM — Gary Johnson paved the way for the Peninsula College men as the Port Angeles product produced a team-high 17 points in the Pirates’ 89-70 road win over Whatcom.
“Gary had a huge night,” coach Donald Rollman said. “He knocked down shots, defended extremely well. We are all really happy for him to have that type of success and have that kind of game in league play because he’s such a great kid, an excellent teammate and a hard worker.”
Johnson was hot from beyond the 3-point line, knocking down 5 of 8 from distance and 6 of 10 overall with a pair of assists and rebounds in 20 minutes of court time.
“Playing at the [off guard] last night and Gary came in and knocked down his first shot and never looked back,” Rollman said. “His aggressiveness was high and we were lacking that a little at the start. And when Gary gets going, that gets his teammates excited.”
Rollman said his squad was able to shake off its sluggish start and get rolling in the second half.
Peninsula shared the ball well offensively, with 24 assists on 34 made buckets.
Roosevelt Williams Jr. led the team in assists with 10 to go along with 16 points. Malik Jackson also shared the ball well with a team-high 15 rebounds, five assists and six points.
“We’ve done that all season long, sharing the sugar, and that makes us challenging to guard,” Rollman said. “Sometimes teams try to focus on a couple of guys, but we have others that can step up for us. We are really hard to guard when we are sharing the basketball, getting stops and getting out in transition.
Edmonds showdown
It was the 11th consecutive win for Peninsula (5-0, 18-1), which remained No. 2 in the most recent NWAC Coaches Poll earlier this week.
The Pirates host Edmonds (5-0, 15-2) on Saturday. The Tritons have won 13 straight games.
“A classic Edmonds team with high levels of enthusiasm and energy,” Rollman said of the Tritons. “We will have to work hard to limit their transition game and their ability to make shots in transition.”
Peninsula 89, Whatcom 70
Peninsula 30 59 — 89
Whatcom 26 44 — 70
Peninsula (75) — Johnson 17, Williams Jr. 16, Onakpoma 11, Medlock Jr. 9, Olmstead 7, Ervin 6, Dean 6, D’Amato 6, Jackson 6, Tinsley 5,
Whatcom (55) — Wilson 15, Sanchez 8, Shaefer 7, Murrell 6, Davidson 6, Zamora 3, Wilson 3, Lund 1.
Peninsula 75, Whatcom 55
BELLINGHAM — The best part of the Pirate women’s blowout win over the Orcas was getting some rest for Peninsula’s starting five.
“We got up 30 and we rotated quite a bit and our bench came in and we were able to play a lot of people, which is awesome for us to get our starters away from playing 35 minutes a game,” coach Alison Crumb said.
Millie Long was productive in her time on the court, leading the Pirates with 21 points, eight steals, five rebounds (four offensive) and four assists.
“Millie had a great game. She was efficient and did a great job of getting in the passing lanes and getting out and getting her shot,” Crumb said.
Chasity Selden came off the bench to score 18 points, with three steals, three assists and three rebounds.
“Chasity played a lot of minutes and she’s coming on strong for us now,” Crumb said. “She hit some outside shots.”
Peninsula forced 25 Orcas turnovers and committed 16 and also outrebounded Whatcom 57-38, including 28-14 on the offensive glass.
The Pirates dropped down to No. 5 in this week’s NWAC Coaches Poll. Peninsula (3-2, 11-4) will face Edmonds (3-2, 11-4) at home Saturday.
“Edmonds is a good athletic basketball team. We are tied with them in the standings, so this is a huge game at home for us,” Crumb said.
Peninsula 75, Whatcom 55
Peninsula 13 28 20 14— 75
Whatcom 13 14 11 17— 55
Peninsula (75) — Long 21, Selden 18, Kamae 14, Donovan 7, Kaganak 5, Tuisaula 5, Brown 3, Vaaia 2, Marini, Moss.
Whatcom (55) — Wilson 15, Sanchez 8, Shaefer 7, Murrell 6, Davidson 6, Zamora 3, Wilson 3, Lund 1.
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Sports reporter/columnist Michael Carman can be contacted at mcarman@ peninsuladailynews.com.
