By Pierre LaBossiere
Peninsula Daily News
PORT ANGELES — The Peninsula men swept both of their games at the Pirate Classic, shooting 50 percent from the floor in a high-offense 92-76 win over Grays Harbor.
The Pirates’ Omar Lo broke out in the Sunday contest, scoring 23 points on 7-for-14 shooting and pulling down 10 rebounds. Darrion Daniels scored 22, shooting 9-for-16.
“Except for the last three minutes of the first half, from start to finish, it was our best game of the year offensively and defensively,” said coach Mitch Freeman.
Freeman also thought Daniels had a great game. Daniels, the Pirates’ leading scorer from last year, has been fighting injuries this season.
“He really makes us go. He’s just starting to get back into full swing,” Freeman said.
Jalon McCullough added 10 points and Cole Rabedeaux nine on 3-for-4 shooting from beyond the 3-point arc. Trent Warren added eight points and seven rebounds, while Kevin Baker had seven points and seven rebounds.
The Pirates shot 32-for-64 from the floor in the game, and 10-for-23 (43 percent) from 3-point range. Peninsula had a solid Pirate Classic tournament offensively, averaging 87 points in their wins over Grays Harbor and Green River.
Freeman said he saw the team coming together and figuring out their roles at the Pirates tournament.
“We’re figuring out the qualities each guy brings to the team,” Freeman said, adding that his players are starting to get the “camaraderie and chemistry needed to be something special.”
The men outboarded Grays Harbor 50 to 32 and held the Chokers to 3-for-25 shooting from 3-point range.
The victory leaves the men at 4-2 with road games coming up in Edmonds at the Triton-Pirate Classic. The Pirates will play Wenatchee at 4 p.m. Saturday and Blue Mountain at noon Sunday.
Peninsula 92, Grays Harbor 76
Peninsula 47 45— 92
Grays Harbor 34 42— 76
Grays Harbor (76) — John Robinson 22, Malik Redmond 14, Keeandre Rowland 13, Jamari Thomas 12, Tarique Hickle 7, Jared Jackson 4, Trevion Cotton 2.
Peninsula (92) — Omar Lo 23, Darrion Daniels 22, Jalon McCullough 10, Cole Rabedeaux 9, Trent Warren 8, Kevin Baker 7, Zach Day 7, Alex Baham 3, Sam Velez 3.
Peninsula women Centralia 62, Peninsula 57
PORT ANGELES — The Peninsula women got off to a great start against Centralia in Sunday’s Pirate Classic contest, jumping out to a 18-5 lead after the first quarter and a 31-17 lead after one half.
But, the women were undone by a huge Centralia third quarter, eventually falling to the Trailblazers 62-57.
Centralia outscored Peninsula 27-14 in the third quarter as both Alicia Dugan and Tiffani Smith got in foul trouble early in the third.
“We actually didn’t play too bad, other than the third quarter,” coach Alison Crumb said.
“We had some key people in foul trouble and that really hurt our rotations, and they seemed to make a run on us after that.”
Crumb also said Centralia is a tough team and she didn’t expect the Pirates to blow them out, even after that big first quarter.
“I knew they would make a run at us, and it is difficult to play with a lead sometimes. Our girls will learn from this experience and we will be better the next time,” Crumb said.
Anaya Rodisha led the Pirates with 18 points, while Alicia Dugan had 11 points and Jenise McKnight had 10 points and 11 rebounds.
“Anaya and Jenise both had a great game and will continue to be a match-up nightmare for other teams, just strictly because of their athleticism, but now they are also playing with poise and maturity,” Crumb said.
The Pirates (2-3) split a pair at their tournament and will host Highline at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Centralia 62, Peninsula 57
Centralia 5 12 27 18— 62
Peninsula 18 13 14 12— 57
Centralia (62) — Tamika Etherly 20, Brianna Zaragoza-Jones 16, Courtney Kemble 10, Kylie Smith 6, Jaid Harris 5, Tianno Hanohano 3, Majesty Brooks 2.
Peninsula (57) — Anaya Rodisha 18, Alicia Dugan 11, Jenise McKnight 10, Taisha Thomas 10, Sephora Yayouss 6, Yamilei Rodriguez 2.
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Sports Editor Pierre LaBossiere can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or plabossiere@peninsuladailynews.com.
