PORT ANGELES — The Peninsula Pirates will try to defend their turf, or at least improve their defense, this weekend at the First Federal Pirate Classic at Peninsula College.
The Pirates are coming off a 94-91 loss to Portland in the Skagit Valley Turkey Tournament on Sunday. It was the third time this season Peninsula has scored more than 90 points, which is nice, but the 94 points is the most the Pirates have given up this season.
“It was a good game. We just didn’t get enough defensive stops,” head coach Mitch Freeman said. “We’re not there defensively yet. We’ve been working a lot on the defensive end in practice this week.”
Through five games, the Pirates (2-3) have upped their per-game scoring average by 14.5 points from last season (66.3 to 80.8). But the points they’re allowing this season has jumped by nearly 13 points from 67.1 to 79.8.
“We like where we’re at offensively. We’re able to score, we’re able to get guys shots, we’re able to get out in the open court,” Freeman said.
“We’re just not getting multiple stops.”
Part of the increased scoring by the other team comes from the style Peninsula plays when it has the ball.
With guards Deonte Dixon, Ryley Callaghan and Darrion Daniels able to quickly move the ball up court, and front-court players such as Dimitri Amos, Malik Mayeux and Jeremiah Hobbs athletic enough to run with those guards, the Pirates’ pace is faster.
That creates more possessions in a game, which means more scoring opportunities, and not only for Peninsula but for its foes as well.
The other thing is that the Pirates are still learning to play together.
Although seven sophomores return from last year’s team that finished the season by making a run to a third-place finish at the Northwest Athletic Conference tournament, Peninsula is still a team of freshmen trying to mesh with players who are only in their second years of college basketball.
“The wheels haven’t fallen off,” Freeman said.
“At the end of the day, we still have a bunch of new guys being part of the team.
“We like where we are as a team. We took some losses; I’m sure we’ll take a few more.
“But they enjoy playing with each other and that will go a long ways.
“We hope to be the team that we want to be in January and February.”
Pirate Classic
The Pirate Classic will feature four NWAC teams Saturday and Sunday at the Peninsula College gym.
The Skagit Valley Cardinals (3-1) and South Puget Sound Clippers (3-1) will open the Classic at 5 p.m. Saturday. Then at 7 p.m., Peninsula will play the Tacoma Titans (2-3).
On Sunday, Skagit and Tacoma play at noon, and the Pirates face the Clippers at 2 p.m.
The Pirates were able to get a good look at Skagit and Tacoma at last weekend’s tournament, and Freeman said he and his coaching staff were watching film on South Puget Sound.
Here is his scouting reports on the three other teams:
■ Tacoma: “They have size inside and a couple of guards that can really shoot the basketball.
“They’ll be a tough matchup for us. They’re very comparable to us in terms of style.”
■ South Puget Sound: “They’ve improved their scoring. They want to get up and down the court fast, so transition offense and defense will be very important.”
■ Skagit Valley: “They are a good team. They are a team that doesn’t turn the ball over. They shoot the ball well.”
Tickets for each day of the Pirates Classic are $6 for adults and $4 for seniors, juniors and veterans. Children 12 and younger get in free.
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Sports Editor Lee Horton can be reached at 360-417-3525 or at lhorton@peninsuladailynews.com.
