PORT ANGELES — Peninsula College and Whatcom are the two lowest scoring men’s basketball teams in the Northwest Athletic Conference’s North Division.
When they met Wednesday, that’s exactly how it played out, with the Pirates winning 48-47.
“Barn burner,” Peninsula coach Mitch Freeman said with a laugh.
“It was old-school, Big East, punch you in the face, mouth-to-mouth basketball, and I thought our guys responded nicely.
“We struggled to score, but I was proud of the way we found a way to win and trust each other.”
The way the Pirates won was with a late bucket by Deonte Dixon and a defensive stand by Jal Deng and Jeremiah Hobbs.
After a stop with Peninsula down by one, 47-46, Pirates point guard Ryley Callaghan passed the ball upcourt to a streaking Dixon, who took the ball and cut toward the hoop for a layup with 59 second remaining.
Dixon was knocked to the ground, but the contact wasn’t hard enough to be considered a foul in this slugfest.
“It was intense,” Hobbs said of Wednesday’s game.
“We’ve been there before as a team. A couple games have been really close, and this time we’re on the winning end, so, you know, it’s always exciting.”
Each team followed Dixon’s basket with an empty possession, and the Orcas regained possession with six seconds to play.
Whatcom went to leading scorer Mikeal Anderson, who took the inbound pass beyond half-court and attacked the hoop.
The entire play, he was swarmed by Deng, and when Anderson got to the paint and put up a shot, Hobbs was there to help and Anderson’s shot didn’t have a chance.
“I was surprised they went that far back and started the way they did,” Freeman said.
“But a credit to our guys, locking down. Jal was right there, and then Jeremiah just has good timing and he has a long wingspan.”
The win keeps the Pirates (4-5, 11-10) within a game of third place in the North, tied with Everett (4-5, 13-11). Peninsula hosts the Trojans on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Just as importantly, the Pirates’ win drops the Orcas (3-6, 5-15) a game back of Peninsula and Everett, in a tie with Shoreline.
“It’s a huge win,” Freeman said.
“We don’t talk too much about seedings and this and that, but obviously it’s becoming very relevant now that we’ve got five games left in the season.
“And they’re all important, especially when you have Shoreline, Everett, Skagit, us and Whatcom all one or two games from each other.
“It’s going to be a fight. Like tonight.”
Whatcom led 30-25 at halftime thanks to its 6 of 10 shooting on 3-pointers.
The Pirates adjusted during the break, and the Orcas didn’t make a 3-pointer in the second half.
In fact, they didn’t make much of anything, scoring only 17 points after halftime.
“We just really focused on the defensive end,” Hobbs said.
“In the second half, we held them to 14 percent field-goal shooting.
“That’s what coach really strives for. On defense, we go hard every day in practice. First thing, the start of practice, we start on defense.
“That was the game plan.”
Hobbs finished with 11 points and seven rebounds, including four offensive boards, and two blocks. He also wore two jerseys: No. 15 in the first half and No. 0 in the second.
“He just keeps a lot of basketballs alive. He works so hard on both ends of the floor,” Freeman said.
“We practically had to change his jersey because he sweats so much.
“Jal Deng’s the same way. They work so hard.
“J.D., I thought, was special tonight. From rebounding when we needed it to just defensive stops. I think we saw a lot of what he brings to the table on the defensive end.”
Deng scored nine points and had six rebounds and three assists.
Dixon finished with 11 points and Callaghan scored 10.
Peninsula 48, Whatcom 47
Whatcom 30 17— 47
Peninsula 25 23— 48
Individual scoring
Whatcom (47)
Anderson 11, Seymour 9, Vader 7, Miksovsky 6, Leek 5, Reimer 4, Landerholm 3, Whitfield 2, Corpus, Davies, Perkins.
Peninsula (48)
Dixon 11, Callaghan 10, Hobbs 11, Deng 9, Mayeux 4, Domach 2, Cook 1, Reis.
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Sports Editor Lee Horton can be reached at 360-417-3525 or at lhorton@peninsuladailynews.com.
