BELLEVUE — Poor free-throw shooting doomed the Peninsula College men’s basketball team in a NWAACC North Division showdown with powerhouse Bellevue on Saturday night.
The Bulldogs nipped the Pirates 74-71 in an evenly matched game that came down to free throws.
“We had 29 field goals, they had 29, we had six 3s, they had six 3s,” Peninsula coach Lance Von Vogt said.
It came down to free throws as the Bulldogs made 10 and the Pirates made seven.
“Free throws was the difference in the game,” Von Vogt said.
The Pirates normally shoot 70 percent in free throws but shot 46 percent in this game.
“If we shoot our normal 70 percent, we win by one point in regulation,” Von Vogt said.
The victory gave the Bulldogs a tie with the Pirates in the NWAACC North Division standings.
Both teams are 8-2 in conference and 13-6 overall.
Peninsula beat Bellevue 79-67 earlier in the season, so the teams are tied 1-1 in head-to-head competition.
The Pirates have six more games in the regular season. It doesn’t get any easier as the Pirates next host Skagit Valley on Wednesday.
The Cardinals were tied with the Pirates for first going into Saturday’s games at 8-1. Skagit Valley’s result with Edmonds was not available as of press time.
On Saturday, Bellevue led Peninsula 29-26 at halftime.
“It was a tremendous game,” Von Vogt said.
“Our guys played extremely hard. We just didn’t play as efficiently as we could have.”
Sam Waller led four Pirates in double figures with a game-high 19 points while Mitrell Clark sank 15, Thad Vinson 14 and DeShaun Freeman 13.
Former Ephrata standout Daniel Simon led the Bulldogs with 17.
Freeman also grabbed 10 rebounds and had four steals. Waller and Clark had four steals each.
Bellevue 74, Peninsula 71
Peninsula 26 45 — 71
Bellevue 29 45 — 74
Individual Scoring
Peninsula (71)
Freeman 13, Musgrow 6, Vinson 14, Jacobson 2, Clark 15, Waller 19, Johnson 2.
Bellevue (74)
Simon 17, Clarington 13, Gonzalez 13, Nelson 7, Landry 6, Love 6, Bonner 4, Valentine 3, Stillwell 2, Searles 2.
Women’s Game Bellevue 83, Peninsula 46
BELLEVUE — The Bulldogs ran out to a 43-22 halftime lead and never looked back.
Callie Monfrey led the Pirates with 13 points.
Kelsey Sparks had 19 points for Bellevue while A.C. DenHartog added 17.
The Pirates next host Skagit Valley on Wednesday.
Bellevue 83, Peninsula 46
Peninsula 22 24 — 46
Bellevue 43 40 — 83
Individual Scoring
Peninsula (46)
Goodwin 6, Pullen 6, Thein 4, Carter 4, Jackson 5, Smith 8, Monfrey 13.
Bellevue (83)
Shannon 9, Shoecraft 2, Michael 8, Sparks 19, DenHartog 17, Francis 5, Sutherland 9, Milovic 8, Lewis 6.
