EDMONDS — The Peninsula basketball men got back on the winning track with an 82-64 victory over Edmonds that keeps the Pirates in second place in the Northwest Conference’s North Division and within striking distance of sharing in a division title.
The women also easily won their game over Edmonds 75-31.
The Pirate men qualified for a postseason berth with the win. Peninsula is 9-4 and in second place in the North Division with one league game left.
The top four teams in the division make postseason, and Whatcom and Bellevue are both 7-5 and played Sunday. So, after Sunday one of those teams will have six losses, which gives the Pirates, who can only have five division losses at worst, one of the top four slots for the playoffs. Peninsula can also still win the North Division, but the Pirates need Shoreline to lose its final game.
The Pirates (18-7 overall) were led by Cole Rabedeaux’s 21 points and 10 rebounds. Jalon McCullough, who has been red-hot lately for the Pirates, scored 20 while Darrion Daniels scored 18 with 10 rebounds and Alex Baham scored 11 while hitting three 3-pointers.
“Cole had one of his best games of the year,” said coach Mitch Freeman. He said the team has been bouncing back with big wins after losses all year.
The game was actually close at halftime, with the Pirates holding just a 34-33 lead at the break. Peninsula came back with a 48-point second half to blow the game open. In that second half, the Pirates hit five 3-pointers and shot 20-for-35 from the field (57.1 percent). For the game, Peninsula held Edmonds to just 34 percent shooting from the floor.
Peninsula also dominated the boards, outrebounding Edmonds 47-35.
Freeman said the team combined good defense, rebounding and shooting, especially in that second half.
“It was really encouraging to see that all come together,” he said.
“I thought we’ve been playing better, even in that Skagit [loss on Feb. 22], even if we didn’t close it out,” Freeman said.
The Pirates trail first-place Shoreline (10-3) by a game with one game left in their season. They play at Whatcom (7-5, 15-8) at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Shoreline will be hosting 7-6 Everett that same night.
Peninsula 82, Edmonds 64
Peninsula 34 48 — 82
Edmonds 33 31 — 64
Peninsula (82) — Rabedeaux 21, McCullough 20, Daniels 18, Baham 11, Warren 7, Baker 5.
Edmonds (64) — Hassett 16, Ezeokeke 14, Morris 10, Jones 9, Mendiola 6, Zamora 4, Wtmore 2, Burns 2, Hutt 1.
Women’s Basketball
Peninsula 75, Edmonds 31
EDMONDS — Still playing shorthanded because of injuries, Peninsula picked up an easy 75-31 win Saturday against last-place Edmonds.
The Pirates’ reserves got to play much of this game as 10 players logged at least 14 minutes and nine different women scored. The Pirates played without reserve Yamelei Rodriguez and starter Anaya Rodisha, who injured her knee in the Pirates’ previous game.
Leading Peninsula with 14 points each were Taisha Thomas and Alicia Dugan. Thomas also grabbed nine rebounds while Dugan had five steals. Jenise McKnight scored 12 with nine rebounds, while Sephora Yayouss had 11 points, five rebounds and four assists.
The Peninsula women have qualified for the postseason with a 10-3 record in the North Division (18-8 overall). They are one game out of first place and have a chance — albeit slight — to share the division title if they can win at Shoreline Wednesday. First-place Skagit Valley (11-2) is playing Edmonds Wednesday, a winless, last-place team, so it appears they will have to settle for second place.
Peninsula 75, Edmonds 31
Peninsula 26 13 14 22 — 75
Edmonds 10 12 7 2 — 31
Peninsula (75) — Dugan 14, Thomas 14, McKnight 12, Yayouss 11, Alvarez 6, Barnes 5, Butler 5, Geberyesus 5, Smith 3.
Edmonds (31) — Hayek 11, Moyong 7, Rodriguez 4, Ward 4, Wood 2, Brown 2, Jensen 1.
