DES MOINES — The Peninsula College men’s basketball team had a rough opening to the 2014-15 regular season, falling 81-54 on the road to Highline.
Both teams played rusty in Friday’s first half. The Pirates made 9 of 34 field goals, while the Thunderbirds shot 11 for 32 and held a 32-25 lead at intermission.
Highline shook off the rust, hitting 17 of 31 second-half field goals, including 5 of 10 beyond the arc, to out-score Peninsula 49-29 after halftime.
Freshman guard Ryley Callaghan led the Pirates with 17 points. He also grabbed six rebounds.
Callaghan shot 3 for 8 on 3-pointers, but the rest of the Pirates were 2 for 12.
Jonah Cook scored 11 points and had a team-high eight boards, and Jeremiah Hobbs came off the bench to score 10, pull down six boards and dish out a team-high four assists.
Chris Reis and Alex Ironside each added seven points for the Pirates.
Ben Tucakovic had game-highs of 22 points and 12 rebounds for Highline and Doug McDaniel added 17 points.
Peninsula next plays Friday against Tacoma in the three-day Skagit Valley Tournament. The Pirates also will play games Saturday and Sunday.
