BELLINGHAM — The Peninsula College men’s basketball team had little choice but to turn Wednesday night’s game against Whatcom into a track meet.
The ploy nearly worked.
Peninsula rallied from a 17-point second-half deficit only to come up just short in a 102-97 loss to Whatcom in NWAACC North Division play.
“It was a tremendous game,” Pirates coach Lance Von Vogt said. “It was two really good teams and it ended up being a war.”
Unfortunately for the Pirates (10-3 in North, 15-7 overall), they had to go to battle short-handed.
Forward DeShaun Freeman played only 13 minutes after fouling out of the game early in the second half.
With their main post presence suddenly unavailable, Von Vogt opted for a four-guard lineup that turned up the pace and helped bring the Pirates back from a 64-47 hole with 14 minutes to go.
Peninsula eventually took a 79-78 lead with 6:43 to go but was unable to hold on for the win against Whatcom (9-3, 17-4).
“It was a well-played game by both teams,” Von Vogt said. “It was a good experience for our guys. We’ll learn from it.”
Mitrell Clark finished with 28 points to lead the Pirates, while teammate Sam Waller added 22.
Peninsula actually clinched a playoff berth Wednesday by virtue of Shoreline’s loss to Seattle.
More important to the Pirates, however, was their fall back into second place in the North.
They will be on the road Saturday against Edmonds (3-9, 5-15) before returning for their final home game of the year next Monday against Everett (3-10, 3-17).
Whatcom 102, Peninsula 97
Peninsula 33 64 — 97
Whatcom 41 61 — 102
Individual Scoring
Peninsula (97)
Freeman 12, Musgrow 12, Vinson 11,Jeremiah Johnson 7, Clark 28, Williams 3, Waller 22, Jerry Johnson 2.
Whatcom (102)
Frost 2, Doeut 22, Nicholes 17, Pillard 8, Peters 7, Coulter 20, Welch 16, Elwell 10.
Women Whatcom 78, Peninsula 51
BELLINGHAM — A big night from sophomore Danika Goodwin wasn’t enough to keep the Pirates (2-11, 5-17) from dropping their sixth in a row Wednesday night.
The former Port Angeles High School standout had 22 points, five assists and three steals in the Peninsula loss. Megan Smith added 12 points.
That did not trump nine Orcas scorers led by Ashley Honeycutt (20 points) and Sara Paponjak (23 points).
Whatcom 78, Peninsula 51
Peninsula 25 26 — 51
Whatcom 35 43 — 78
Individual Scoring
Peninsula (51)
Goodwin 22, Pullen 7, Thein 2, Carter 2, Jackson 4, Smith 12, Monfrey 2.
Whatcom (78)
Anderson 3, Valentine 10, Wolf 9, Stoltenberg 4, Leech 4, Holterman 2, Osborn 3, Honeycutt 20, Paponjak 23.
