MOUNT VERNON — The Peninsula basketball men lost their final two games at the Skagit Valley tournament, falling Sunday by 21 points to undefeated Portland and barely being edged by Big Bend on Saturday.
Peninsula lost to Portland 83-62 and Big Bend 72-69.
Coach Mitch Freeman said the Pirates were down just seven points at the half Sunday, but that Portland (4-0) showed in the second half that they are a powerful team.
“Portland is really big and athletic. They’re one of the top teams in the NWAC,” he said.
Against Big Bend, the Pirates rallied from an eight-point halftime deficit, but fell short at the end in their first loss of the year
Freeman said the Pirates had chances to tie or win the game at the end, but just came up short.
Freeman thought that overall, the Pirates had a good tournament, though they only won one game out of three.
“I was happy with how we competed and how we got better this weekend,” he said.
In Sunday’s game, Kaelin Crane led the Pirates with 15 points while veteran Trent Warren made four 3-pointers (on seven shots) and scored 14. Forks graduate Marky Adams had nine points and Colby Jackson and Cole Huish each had seven.
Portland especially dominated on the boards, out-rebounding the Pirates 32-19. Peninsula also struggled from outside. While Warren shot well, the rest of the Pirates shot 2 for 23 from beyond the arc.
In Saturday’s Big Bend game, Adams led the team with 16 points on 8 for 11 shooting. Adams also led the Pirates with six rebounds along with Colby Jackson, who also scored 14 and had five assists.
“Marky Adams had a great tournament. He’s showing great potential,” Freeman said. “He’s got a tremendous upside and continues to develop.”
The Pirates were down 41-33 at the half. Peninsula actually shot well in the game, making 26 of 49 shots (53.1 percent), but the difference in the game was that Big Bend shot a whopping 32 3-pointers, making 11, while Peninsula shot only 11 3-pointers, making four.
Eli’sha Sheppard and James Buckley each scored 11 points for the Pirates, while Trent Warren scored eight.
Port Angeles’ Luke Angevine played 10 minutes in the game, while Adams’ teammate from Forks, Parker Browning, also got in the game for a couple of minutes.
Peninsula (2-2) next hosts Green River at 7 p.m. Dec. 2.
Portland 83, Peninsula 62
Peninsula 32 30 — 62
Portland 39 44 — 83
Peninsula (62) — Crane 15, Warren 14, Adams 9, Jackson 7, Huish 7, Sheppard 4, Buckley 4.
Portland (83) — Garrett 28, Josi 16, Retherford 11, Bosco 11, Landi 6, Holiman-Stickland 6, Harper 2, Norman 2, Ritshcard 1.
Big Bend 72, Peninsula 69
Big Bend 41 31 — 72
Peninsula 33 36 — 69
Big Bend (72) — Huerte 18, Hawkins 17, Smith 13, M. Brown 12, Stowers 9, Austin 3.
Peninsula (69) — Adams 16, Jackson 14, Sheppard 11, Buckley 11, Warren 8, Crane 4, Williams 3, Husish 2.
