PORT ANGELES — The Peninsula College men’s basketball team came back with a furious rally in the second half against Everett, but the Pirates came up just short in an 87-81 loss that puts Peninsula’s playoffs chances in peril.
After Saturday’s loss, the Pirates are in a near must-win situation Wednesday night on the road against Shoreline if they want to qualify for the postseason.
Peninsula is 7-6 in the North Region, tied for third with Everett (7-6), behind Edmonds (9-3) and Skagit Valley (8-5). Edmonds and Skagit Valley have qualified for the postseason in the ultra-competitive North, while Peninsula is battling Everett, Whatcom (6-7) and Shoreline (6-7) for the final two spots for postseason.
Peninsula (14-13 overall) plays at Shoreline on Wednesday night. If the Pirates win, they finish either third or fourth in the North and make the postseason. If they lose, they end up at 7-7 in a tie with Shoreline and perhaps as many as two other teams. Everett plays Whatcom on Wednesday, so four teams tied at 7-7 is possible, which would entail myriad tiebreakers.
Everett got up big on Peninsula early in the second half, holding a 59-44 lead with 16:42 to play. The Pirates clawed back to cut the lead to single digits. After a Wyatt Dunning blocked shot, followed by a Dunning basket at 1:21 and an Everett turnover and Javon Ervin layup with 31 seconds left, the Pirates were down just 83-81.
Peninsula fouled and Everett was able to convert a pair of free throws. The Pirates had a couple of shots in the final seconds, but they didn’t fall and Everett finished the game with another pair from the charity stripe.
Ervin had a huge game, making three 3-pointers and scoring 29. Ese Onakpoma also hit three 3-pointers and scored 22 to go with eight rebounds, six steals and four assists. Patrick Odingo hit a pair from downtown and scored 13 to go with six rebounds and four assists. Dunning (Port Angeles High School) finished with seven points and seven rebounds.
Everett 87, Peninsula 81
Everett 50 37 — 87
PC 44 37 — 81
Everett (87) — Martin 17, Conaxis 15, Smith 14, Headdings 14, Johnson 9, McEnroe 8, Harding 6, Gilbert 4,
Peninsula (81) — Ervin 29, Onakpoma 22, Odingo 13, Dunning 7, Olmstead 4, Odum 4, Rushmeyer 2.
Peninsula’s Javon Ervin attempts a slam as Everett’s Derek Smith falls out of the way on Saturday evening at Peninsula College. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Peninsula’s Aiden Omstead, right, puts the ball up over Everett’s Hayden Conaxis on Saturday evening in Port Angeles. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
