PORT ANGELES — Save for a slow start and a few patchy moments of play in the second half, the Peninsula College men’s basketball team showed they can be a force in the Northwest Athletic Conference’s North Region after a 70-68 defeat of Whatcom.
Trailing 12-3 five minutes into Wednesday’s game against the taller Orcas, the Pirates found energy off the bench with a switch to a four-guard lineup intended to counter Whatcom’s tall timber inside.
“They have a lot of size, a lot of strength,” Peninsula coach Mitch Freeman said of Whatcom.
“Our intention there was to get basketball players on the floor. We know we have to have our bigs like Malik [Mayeux], we have to have Jeremiah [Hobbs], Dimitri [Amos] and Jonah [Cook] when he gets healthy, we have to have those guys, no question, but we definitely have to increase our percentages at different times when we are not able to score.”
Darrion Daniels came off the bench and scored 11 of his 16 points to help fuel a 28-6 run by the Pirates over the next 12 minutes.
“He’s a spark plug,” Freeman said.
“He can do a lot of different things for us. He’s a great defender, he’s great at direct drives to the basket and making a play.
“What I like most is he’s keeping it simple and making the simple play. That’s something he’s been working on and he’s highly effective when he does that.”
It took some time for Daniels to embrace coming off the bench for Peninsula.
“I’ve accepted the role. At first it was hard to understand because I’d never not started,” Daniels said.
Some extra tips in practice also have bolstered Daniels’ game.
“When I get to the lane, I always make an exit dribble and [Freeman] said, ‘Stop that. Come to a jump stop, finish or kick it out.’ And that’s been working a lot better for me, it’s cut my turnovers down a lot,” Daniels said.
Daniels was aided by Deonte Dixon, who hit two 3-pointers during the scoring spurt, and Amos, who knocked down back-to-back baseline jumpers.
Amos also was tasked with guarding the rim against Whatcom’s taller front line during the run.
Dixon finished with a team-high 19 points. Amos added eight points.
“I thought Dimitri had the game of his career for Peninsula College,” Freeman said.
“He was a man in there. Great rebounds, used his length, took the shots that came to him and did a good job of finishing inside.”
Daniels said the run was a result of improved team play.
“Nobody is selfish on our team, but when we get down, sometimes there’s a tendency for us to want to do everything ourselves instead of playing like a team,” Daniels said.
“But when we feed off each other we’re a lot more energized team.
“Tonight we tried to bring all the energy off the bench and pick everybody up and it worked out.”
Peninsula took a 34-24 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The Orcas reorganized around the offensive efforts of 6-foot-7 forward Casey Leek in the second half.
Leek steadily cut into the Pirates’ lead in the opening minutes of the half, scoring 15 of his game-high 20 points as Whatcom pulled within 44-43 with under 10 minutes left in the game.
But back-to-back treys from Dixon and Chris Reis steadied Peninsula, and the Pirates rebuilt their lead to as much as nine, 59-50, with five minutes to play.
With each team in the bonus, Whatcom drew fouls and chipped away at the Peninsula lead from the free-throw line, pulling within 61-58 with less than two minutes to go.
But the Pirates had an answer in guard Ryley Callaghan.
Callaghan scored all 13 of his points in the second half, including a crucial jumper to put Peninsula up 64-58 with 52 seconds left.
“That was a big shot for us down there at the end,” Freeman said.
“He relaxed, got some good looks and let those shots come to him.”
Callaghan and Daniels did enough at the foul line in the final seconds to withstand two late 3s from the Orcas and seal the win.
Freeman said he was pleased with the competitiveness his team showed for the majority of the game.
“We shot the ball better, we were more active for 50/50 balls, we had something like 18 deflections on defense, all those things point to a high level of effort,” Freeman said.
“We are starting to grow and mature as a basketball team. We’ve been through close basketball games already this year.
“Our win against Clark was an example of that, we were down five with a minute to go and we tie it and win that game [80-77 in overtime].
“So, we’ve been in this situation before against a good team, and I’m pleased to see there is some carryover.”
Peninsula (1-1, 8-8) hosts Everett (2-0, 11-6) at 6 p.m. Saturday.
Peninsula 70, Whatcom 68
Whatcom 24 44 — 68
Peninsula 34 36 — 70
Individual scoring
Whatcom (68)
Leek 20, Johnson 14, Thomas 10, Reimer 7, Anderson 6, Schilder 4, Davies 3.
Peninsula (70)
Dixon 19, Daniels 16, Callaghan 13, Reis 12, Amos 8, Mayeux 2, Hobbs.
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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-452-2345, ext. 5250 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
