LONGVIEW — The Peninsula basketball men split their opening pair of games this weekend, with a one-point nailbiting overtime loss to Lower Columbia on Sunday and a come-from-behind win Saturday over Mount Hood.
The men lost 71-70 late Sunday afternoon to Lower Columbia in a game that was close throughout.
Kevin Baker shot 9-for-11 from the floor and led the Pirates with 20 points and eight rebounds, while Cole Rabedeaux scored 18 points (on 11-for-15 from the free-throw line) with seven rebounds and four assists. Omar Lo chipped in six points and five rebounds while Alex Baham scored six with six rebounds.
Peninsula was down 31-29 at the half. The Red Devils managed to pull the game out despite shooting just 5-for-22 from 3-point range. The Pirates shot 8-for-22 from beyond the arc.
After two games, Baker is shooting a red-hot 85.7 percent from the field (12-for-14) and is averaging 9.5 rebounds a game.
Lower Columbia College 71, Peninsula 70
Peninsula: Baker 9-11 1-5 20, Rabedeaux 3-16 11-15 18, Lo 4-11 0-1 9, Baham 2-9 0-0 6, McCullough 2-11, 0-0 6, Warren 1-5 2-2 5, Velez 2-2 0-0 4, Losee 1-1, 0-0 2. Team 24-66 14-23 70. Three-pointers: Baham 2-5, Bakre 1-1, Lo 1-1, McCullough 2-7, Rabedeaux 1-4, Warren 1-4.
LCC: Palu-Thompson 7-17, 3-6 18, Lord 4-11 2-2 11, Cotton 4-8 3-3, 11, Johnson 3-8 5-7 11, Sweet 4-9, 0-0 10, Cotton-Welch 3-8 0-0 7, Morrow 1-4, 0-0 2, Naga 0-0 1-3 1. Team 26-65 14-21 71. Three-pointers: Cotton 0-2, Sweet 2-6, Palu-Thompson 1-6, Cotton-Welch 1-4, Lord 1-3, Morrow 0-1.
Peninsula 29 35 6 — 70
LCC 31 33 7 — 71
Peninsula 83, Mount Hood 76
On Saturday, led by a balanced attack with six players scoring at least nine points, the Pirates began their season with a 55-point second half to roar back from a halftime deficit to beat Mount Hood 83-76.
The Pirates went into the half down 36-28, but shot 20-for-36 (55.6 percent) from the field and 6-for-14 (42.9 percent) from 3-point range in the big second half to outscore the Saints 55-40.
The Pirates’ (1-1) defense held the Saints to 34 percent shooting.
Rabedeaux had a solid all-around game, leading the Pirates with 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists, but Peninsula got contributions from numerous players. Lo, who came into the season with a lot of buzz, scored 14 points and added seven rebounds and six assists. Darrion Daniels had 12 points while Jalon McCullough shot 3-for-6 from 3-point range and scored 11 points with eight rebounds and six assists.
Baker shot 3-for-3 from the floor and scored nine points, adding 11 rebounds. Trent Warren added 10 points.
The Pirates shot 46 percent from the field and 8-for-23 from 3-point range. Meanwhile, they held Mount Hood to 26-for-77 shooting, including 8-for-30 from 3-point range.
Peninsula 83, Mount Hood 76
Peninsula: Rabedeaux 6-10 3-4 17, Lo 6-11 1-2 14, Daniels 6-15 0-1 12, McCullough 3-9 2-3 11, Warren 4-11, 0-0 10, Baker 3-3, 3-5 9 Day 2-3 2-4 6, Baham 2-7 0-0 4. Team 32-70 11-19. Three-pointers: Baham 0-2, Daniels 0-3, Lo 1-4, McCullough 3-6, Rabedeaux 2-3 Warren 2-5, team 8-23.
Mount Hood: Thompson 8-18 5-8 22, Fair 6-17, 2-3 14, Geiger 3-6 4-5 12, Hutson 3-6, 1-2, 9, Fuller 2-12, 1-3 7, Dwyre 2-9, 2-2 6, Anderson 1-2, 1-2 4, Tibbs 1-3 0-0 2. Team 26-77. Three-pointers: Baker 0-1, Fullmer 0-2, Hutson 2-5, Anderson 1-1, Fuller 2-10, Thompson 1-3, Geiger 2-3, Fair 0-5, team 8-30.
Peninsula 28 55 — 83
Mount Hood 36 40 — 76
