PORT ANGELES — Deonte Dixon drove the lane for a layup that gave the Peninsula College the lead for good less than four minutes into the game.
The Pirates held that lead for good, but they spent the remaining 16-plus minutes looking back.
Finally, time expired with Peninsula holding a 75-72 lead, giving the host team a victory in its first game of the First Federal Pirate Classic on Saturday.
“Couldn’t shake them,” Pirates coach Mitch Freeman said.
“And that’s a compliment to Tacoma and what they’ve been able to do. They’ve been in a lot of close games this year so they understand tight game scenarios.
“We also have been in tight games, but we found a way to win, which is really important for a team that is really starting to build up some confidence.”
While still building its confidence and, as Freeman said, seeking its “true identity,” Peninsula battled Tacoma in an early season, nonleague matchup that played more like the Northwest Athletic Conference divisional showdowns that occur in January and February.
There weren’t significant lulls in Saturday’s game. In fact, the action only ratcheted upward throughout the game.
Sometimes the intensity boiled over.
The leading scorers for both teams, Dixon and Tacoma’s Kahliel Wyatt, each received a technical foul when they had a confrontation while running up the court early in the second half, and later in the second half, Dixon was ejected.
The Pirates spent most of the week since their most recent game working on improving their defense, hoping to bring it closer to the level it was at last season.
To help set the tone for that, Freeman changed the starting lineup to include five players who are in their second season playing for Peninsula. Usual starters Dixon, Ryley Callaghan and Malik Mayeux were joined by workhorse post Jeremiah Hobbs and muscular guard Chris Reis.
“A sophomore, experienced group, guys that played last year,” Freeman said.
“Just trying to find some stability there from a team that’s still trying to find our identity.”
Dimitri Amos and Alex Baham still played significant minutes — both in number and in importance — but Hobbs and Reis seemed to help provide the defensive start Freeman wanted: the 72 points scored by the Titans is the second lowest total allowed by the Pirates so far this season.
“Just bringing energy,” Hobbs said was the biggest change in Peninsula’s defense from previous games.
“Getting points hasn’t been a problem for us all year, and just focusing on defense and then creating our offense afterwards has really been a focus.”
Better defense led to better offense.
“We were just playing good defense. We had energy going and we were getting hands on balls, we were getting deflections, and we were getting out in transition and making plays,” Baham said.
Peninsula shot 49 percent from the field, its third-best shooting performance of the season.
Dixon led the effort with 19 points on 8 for 13 shooting, and did so despite spending the final five minutes in the locker room.
After he swished a corner 3-pointer in front of the Pirates bench that made their lead 64-57, the sophomore guard received his second technical and was ejected from the game.
Dixon’s transgression was subtle enough that Freeman needed an explanation from the official who made the call.
“It was taunting,” Freeman said was the explanation he received, “so maybe looking back at the player.
“You’re in that situation, they’re going to have to call it really tight, which they did.
“It’s unfortunate, but a learning experience for [Dixon].”
Without Dixon, who entered the game averaging 20 points a game, the Pirates still survived thanks to a trio of bench players.
Thirty seconds after the ejection, Baham hit a trey that gave Peninsula its biggest lead of the game 67-57.
The freshman scored a career-high seven points and made all three of his shots from the field.
“Alex is a kid that we’re still working with on both ends of the floor, but he can really shoot it and is really athletic, but is still getting used to the college speed,” Freeman said.
“He’s getting better. He absolutely is getting better.”
Another freshman, guard Darrion Daniels, later made a layup that made it 69-59.
He then set up Amos for a pair of crucial layups that each turned four-point leads into six-point leads.
Daniels missed the front end of a one-and-one, but after Patrick Ling’s layup cut Tacoma’s deficit to 73-72, Daniels redeemed himself by making both free throws in another one-and-one situation with 6.3 seconds left.
That gave the Pirates a three-point lead, which gave them the luxury of fouling Ling, who missed his two free throws with 2.7 seconds left. The second miss was on purpose. Wyatt got the rebound, but his layup attempt was too high and bounced off the backboard as time expired.
Daniels scored 14 points and tied Dixon and Callaghan for the team lead with three assists.
“Darrion’s going to be a big part of this program, along with Alex,” Freeman said. “They’re just getting more and more game time, which is important.
“Darrion’s tremendous. He’s just a kid that’s quick with the basketball, he’s one of our better defenders, and he can really score. He’s got a knack for scoring.”
Callaghan scored 10 points.
Wyatt and Ling led Tacoma with 18 points each.
Peninsula (3-3) and Tacoma’s (2-4) game followed South Puget Sound’s 95-92 overtime win over Skagit Valley to give the Pirate Classic a spectacular opening day.
Dez Stoudamire led the Clippers in the win with 41 points.
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Sports Editor Lee Horton can be reached at 360-417-3525 or at lhorton@peninsuladailynews.com.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated from print version to correct individual statistics
