PORT ANGELES — The Peninsula College men used a 45-point second half to run away from Highline, completing their preconference schedule with a solid 10-2 record.
Meanwhile, the women, after a long layoff, shook off some early-game doldrums to win their game 61-49 over Centralia.
The Pirates entered the halftime break down 34-30, but went on a 16-2 run early in the second half to seize control of the game. Peninsula ended up outscoring the Thunderbirds 45-27 in the second half. Highline never got back to within 10 after the 12-minute mark of the second half as Peninsula shot over 50 percent (17-for-33) in that second half.
Jaylin Reed led the Pirates with 18 points and eight rebounds, while Davien Harris-Williams had 17 points. Malik Moore had 11 points and eight rebounds, while Everett Torres-Kahapea had 11 points and six rebounds. KeAndre Hunter-Holiday added nine points and seven rebounds.
Coach Donald Rollman called the game a “good tune-up” for North Division play that begins Wednesday.
He said the Pirates held Highline to just 14 percent shooting on its 3-pointers in the second half.
He said the 45 points in the second half were the result of “defense and rebounding and getting out in transition.”
Rollman said there were some cobwebs early for the Pirates, playing their first game in 13 days.
“We got a little bit of a wake-up call in the first half,” he said.
Rollman said the Pirates aren’t getting too caught up in their 10-2 record. Skagit Valley finished preconference with a 15-0 record and Everett is 13-2.
“We’re taking it game by game, honestly. There’s a tons of things we have to improve on,” Rollman said.
Peninsula begins North Division play at Bellevue (1-13) at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Peninsula 75, Highline 61
Highline 34 27 — 61
PC 30 45 — 75
Highline (61) — Jessie 22, Mulibea 10, Zevenbergen 8, Brown 7, Fayson 6, Kavanagh 6, Menefee 2.
Peninsula (75) — Reed 18, Harris-Williams 17, Moore 11, Torres-Kahapea 11, Hunter-Holiday 9, Despain 5, Long 2, Gatluak 2.
Peninsula College’s Kayla Johnson (1) dribbles against Centralia on Saturday. The Pirates won 61-49, outscoring Centralia 19-4 in the fourth quarter. (Peninsula College)
Women’s Basketball
Peninsula 61, Centralia 49
The Port Angeles women had a sluggish start, but a furious finish in coming from behind to beat Centralia 61-49 in their first game in nearly three weeks.
The Pirates, who had last played on Dec. 16, only scored eight points in the first quarter and found themselves down 15-8 after the first 10 minutes.
Peninsula fought back to trail just 45-42 entering the fourth quarter, but slammed down on defense in the fourth, holding Centralia to just four points over the final 10 minutes and outscoring the Trailblazers 19-4.
“There was a quite a bit of nerves at first,” said coach Alison Crumb. “It was our first game at home and we were out of character. We weren’t making very good passes.”
Crumb said the defense toughened up, especially down the stretch. Crumb said the team showed mental toughness, shaking off the dust after an 18-day layoff and a slow start against the Trailblazers. She said the women are going to need that mental toughness when they begin league play this week on the road.
“We need to play a lot better,” she said.
Leilani Padilla hit five 3-pointers and scored 19 points to lead the Pirates. Casandra White hit three 3-pointers for her nine points, adding four assists and three steals. Logan Luke had 13 points and seven rebounds. Kayla Johnson had seven points and five rebounds.
Peninsula finishes its preconference play with a 7-4 record — which includes a 4-1 record over the past five games. The Pirates open North Division play at Bellevue (7-3) at 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Peninsula 61, Centralia 49
Centralia 15 13 17 4 — 49
PC 8 17 17 19 — 61
Centralia (49) — Cudney 11, Cai 9, Cash 8, Nurmi 8, Yenne 5, Huffine 3, Wilkerson 3, Narolski 2.
Peninsula (61) — Padilla 19, Luke 13, White 9, Johnson 7, Bowen 4, McCaulley 3, Vicente 3, Brown 2, Ontiveras 1.
