PORT ANGELES — The Peninsula College men’s basketball team begins its quest today for its second straight NWAACC championship today from campus.
The Pirates, both the men’s and women’s teams, will get a send-off from students, faculty and fans at noon in the middle of campus as they begin their trip to Kennewick on their Black Pearl bus.
The Peninsula men are trying for their second title in a row while the women will be trying for their first NWAACC championship.
The men, seeded No. 2 out of the North Division, will open the tourney against South Division No. 3 Clackamas, which has a rich tournament history.
The two teams play at 10 a.m. Saturday in the first round of the 16-team double-elimination tournament at the Toyota Center.
The Cougars, 16-10 overall and 10-4 in conference, was third in the South but won nine of the past 10 games and captured the NWAACC championship two years prior to the Pirates winning it last season.
Clackamas of Oregon City, Ore., really won 10 games in a row but lost one of the games because of a scoreboard error that gave opponent Chemeketa more points than it actually scored.
“I believe that Clackamas is the best team in the South [because of its win streak at the end],” Peninsula coach Lance Von Vogt said.
“They are playing great basketball. I think the pairing of Peninsula and Clackamas makes it the marquee matchup in the first round.”
The two teams have played once before but it was no contest as the Pirates ripped the Cougars 85-65 at the Clackamas Tournament early in the season.
Von Vogt isn’t expecting the same result this time around, though.
“I think Clackamas has improved since we played them.”
The Cougars feature three players who average double-doubles, including Taylor Dunn — a South Division first-team all-star — a 6-foot-6 small forward who averages 22 points a game.
“Taylor handles the ball really well and is a good scorer,” Von Vogt said.
“He will be difficult to defend.”
Dunn can shoot from beyond the 3-point arc, drives to the basket well and is good from the baseline.
Then there’s 6-5 shooter Paul Walter, who is also a first-team all-star.
The Cougars, though, have a three-pronged attack with Brett Ball, a second-team all-star who also scores in double figures.
“They have a very fearsome three scorers who make it difficult for any team to contend with,” Von Vogt said.
But the Pirates won’t be able to just concentrate on the Big Three.
“I think they have a lot of good role players,” Von Vogt said.
One of those role players is Andre Dickson, who made the South all-defensive team.
On the other hand, the Cougars probably are wishing they didn’t have to defend against the defending champs.
North Division first-team all-stars DeShaun Freeman and J.T. Terrell, both sophomores, are much more than a handful.
Freeman, 6-7, was named the North’s defensive player of the year.
“I don’t believe anyone can handle Freeman one-on-one,” Von Vogt said.
“They will have to handle him with whoever they have on the floor.”
Good luck with that.
And then there’s Terrell, who is causing a lot of buzz around the league because the Division I player has a stop-over at Peninsula on his way to the USC Trojans next year.
The 6-3 guard is averaging 25 points a game but has struggled in a couple of games because of the amount of attention other teams give him.
“J.T. is playing at a higher level and I think he will be ready to go [at the tournament],” Von Vogt said.
It will be interesting to see what kind of defense teams will throw at Terrell, the coach added.
“We have seen all kinds of defense, including box and one and different types of junk defenses to slow him down.”
On the other hand, Von Vogt isn’t too concerned even if teams do slow Terrell down to fourth or third gear.
Because there are plenty of other players to take up the slack.
Teams believe that if they can put the clamps on Terrell, they can put the clamps on the Pirates, Von Vogt said.
“That’s not really the case. When J.T. has had a couple of rough games, other guys have picked up the slack.”
Sophomore guards Sam Waller and Tyler Funk, sophomore forward Dudley Ewell and freshman guard Daniel Sims off the bench all have contributed big-time at times this year, Von Vogt said.
The Pirates, despite having the Big Two players who draw a lot of attention, have a well-balanced team with five players averaging double figures and a sixth averaging 9.5 points.
“We are a unique team in that way,” Von Vogt said.
If one or two players have bad games, there’s always several others who can fill the void, including Ewell of Los Angeles, who averages 13 points a game, and sophomore guard Corey Clement of Las Vegas, who averages 10 per contest.
Be assured that the sophomore-dominated Pirates, with nine sophomores, will not give up the championship trophy without a fight.
“We know what it takes to win a championship, and we know what to expect playing four games in four days,” Von Vogt said.
The tourney starts Saturday and concludes Tuesday with the trophy games.
“Whoever we have on the floor down there, we know they will play their best,” Von Vogt said.
“We always expect that from our guys.”
The Pirates know they are going to Kennewick with a target on their backs.
The other teams will play at the top of their games to beat the champs.
But Von Vogt is looking forward to the challenge.
“We play our best when everything’s on the line,” he said.
“Our guys relish the opportunity.”
That’s not good news to any team that wants to unseat the champions.
Saturday’s winner will advance to the championship quarterfinals Sunday at 4 p.m. against the first-round winner between Spokane (23-4) and South Puget Sound (12-14).
If the Pirates keep winning, they will play in the semifinals Monday at 8 p.m. and the championship game Tuesday at 8 p.m.