KENNEWICK — Jal Deng came through in the clutch to help the Peninsula College men’s basketball team claim the third-place trophy at the Northwest Athletic Conference tournament.
Deng, playing his final game for the Pirates, hit two free throws with 3.4 seconds left in regulation and then smacked away the ensuing inbounds pass to seal a 53-51 win over Green River on Tuesday at the Toyota Center.
“We believed that eventually we were going to get good enough, and when that was, I didn’t know,” Peninsula coach Mitch Freeman said.
“We believed that we could compete, obviously, but I didn’t know if we thought we could finish in the top four.
“But I’ll take it.”
Jonah Cook dropped in two put-backs in a row to give Peninsula a 15-10 lead in the opening 10 minutes of the half.
Two minutes later, the Pirates increased their lead to 19-12 on a deep 2-pointer from Cook and a turnaround jumper from Jeremiah Hobbs.
Green River fired back, going on a 14-2 run during the final eight minutes of the half to go up 26-21 over the Pirates at the break.
The defensive struggle was real for Peninsula in the first half, as it turned the ball over 10 times and allowed Green River to score 18 points off turnovers.
The Pirates’ offensive miscues were also attributed to an 11.1 percent mark from the 3-point line, only hitting 1 for 9 from beyond the arc.
“Our shots weren’t falling. Our legs weren’t there,” Freeman said.
“We were dead tired. Four games in four days — our kids were exhausted.”
Sharpshooter Ryley Callaghan was bottled up for the second night in a row, putting up zero points in the first half as Green River put a body on him every step of the way.
Callaghan started the second half scoring by nailing his first 3-pointer of the night to cut the lead to two.
Three minutes later, Deng knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to tie the game up at 30-30 with 16:07 left in the game.
Green River went on a 7-2 run with 10:56 left in the game, pushing its lead to five points off of a Damon Cikanek 3 and a tip-in by Trevante Williams.
Dixon came roaring back, taking a pass of a steal from Malik Mayeux, speeding past defenders and throwing down an emphatic two-handed dunk to cut the Gators’ advantage to three points.
The Pirates retook the lead and went up by five when Dixon drove through three defenders for a lay-in, Deng dropped a floater in the paint and Dixon, for the second time, blew past three defenders for a lay-in.
“We were able to create some turnovers that led to easy baskets,” Freeman said.
Green River’s Glenn Brooks slashed to the lane and connected on three shots to tie the game up at 51-51 with 2:54 left in regulation.
Both teams fought a stalemate until Deng drove to the lane, drawing a foul with 3.4 seconds left. He calmly sank both free throws to put the Pirates up 53-51.
“I just thought, this is it. Last free throws of your collegiate career, maybe at the NWAC level. I knew it was going to go in,” Deng said.
Freeman expected the Gators to foul on the play that set up Deng’s free throws.
“We knew they were going to foul because they had fouls to give, so we just wanted to attack,” Freeman said.
On the following inbounds pass, Deng leaped into the air and smacked the ball away, sealing the win and securing the third-place trophy for the Pirates.
“I was just so happy that I got at least a piece on it so I know they won’t have a chance,” Deng said.
“I just take pride in my defense. Coach tells me every day that I’m one of the best defenders out there and I just use that as confidence.”
Deng was a difference-maker for the Pirates.
“Jal Deng’s defensive effort , getting out and getting a few steals, really changed the scope and just gave us energy, and we were able to feed off of that,” Freeman said.
Deng finished with 21 points, eight rebounds and 4 for 5 shooting from 3-point range.
“I just tried to push myself. As a sophomore, I wanted to go out hard and give everything,” Deng said.
Dixon put up 10 points and four rebounds, Callaghan and Cook finished with six points each, and Mayeux grabbed 10 rebounds and scored four points.
“Words can’t express how much this team means to me,” Freeman said.
“These kids played extremely hard and competed. It’s all you can ask for as a coach. They give you everything they have, and when they do that it’s pretty special.”
Peninsula 53, Green River 51
Green River 26 25— 51
Peninsula 21 32— 53
Individual scoring
Green River (51)
Cikanek 7, Brooks 13, Holiday 6, Hardwick 2, Sanders 2, Matthews 4, Garrett 9, Williams 8, Pratt.
Peninsula (53)
Callaghan 6, Mayeux 4, Dixon 10, Hobbs 4, Reis 2, Deng 21, Cook 6, Domach, Nibler.
