Scooter Chapman

It’s Pirate basketball time tonight as the Peninsula hoop squads host the Everett Trojans, then it’s on the road aboard the Black Pearl for Shoreline next Monday, Bremerton next Wednesday and home for Bellevue on Saturday and there’s no truth to the rumor that tickets are sold out for the that last home game.

 

Yes, the season is winding down for the Peninsula Pirate basketball teams and both the women’s and men’s programs will be represented in the NWAACC season-ending tournaments in Kennewick next month, barring a complete collapse.

 

The Bucs lost at Whatcom and Saturday night came back with wins over Edmonds, the ladies 100-35 (Edmonds showed up with just five players), the men 75-65 in a close fit.

 

In case you’ve forgotten, the Pirate men, under first-year head coach Lance Von Vogt, won the title last year, the school’s first since 1970 and a repeat is not out of the question.

 

Going into tonight’s game at home, the Pirates ladies are 8-4 in North Division play and 14-8 overall.
The men have a conference record of 9-3 and for the season the Pirates are 19-4.

The ladies

Coach Alison Crumb got through a couple of lean years, but now has a potent and entertaining squad and they are performing well.

 

Freshman post Taylor Larson has had a fantastic year and is the best post player the Bucs have had in years. She and teammate Karli Brakes hail from the same school and Brakes knows how to get her the ball. Larson is a southpaw with a deft touch around the hoop and set a school record of 35 points a few games ago. By time defenders figure out she is a lefty, the game is over.

 

Her backup, Jonica Durbin from Klahowya, also is playing very well and the other Alaskans Tia Mason, Abigail Jones, Callie Monfrey, Leisl Brown, Jesse Ellis, Jasmin Yarde and Raquel Young are talented kids.

 

Mix in role players Ashley Manker and Megan Smith of Coupeville and you have a solid team.

Crumb uses her bench, the team can flat out run and when they’re pressing and stealing on defense, they can rattle anybody.

 

Be there at 5 p.m. tonight and don’t miss the Bellevue game.

The men

This squad can get up and down the court, folks, and they have many players who are not afraid to push the ball up and put the ball up. No such thing as a shot-clock violation, but they are capable of a half-court game against zone defenses and they have faced plenty of those.

 

DeShaun Freeman is the big, 6-foot 7-inch soph out of Los Angeles. He is tough on the boards and around the hoop he has a deft touch, but he is not the central figure.

 

The offense revolves around 6-foot 4-inch soph Dudley Ewell from Los Angeles; Tyler Funk, a 6-foot 1-inch soph out of Orange County in California; Sam Waller, a 5-foot 11-inch sophomore out of Chino in California; and J.T. Terrell, a 6-foot 3-inch soph out of Burlington, N.C.

 

Sometimes the team relies too much on Terrell as he likes to go one and one, but he can pull up and take the three or drive and dunk. He is fun to watch, but methinks sometimes he fires away too quickly at times.

 

He signed a letter to attend USC next year and one of the Trojan coaches watched him play against North Seattle. Next season it will give us an excuse to watch USC on television.

 

Corey Clement comes off the bench and Tim Friday is a key reserve.

 

The North Division is tough as nails and the teams that come out of this division for the championships will be tough to handle.

 

Tonight’s game and those next week will decide the final standings.

Saying goodbye

Farewell and best of luck to Dr. Tom Keegan as he begins his new duties next month as head of Skagit Valley Community College.

 

Dr. Keegan has been a real sports booster and was instrumental in pulling the financial strings to get the Wally Sigmar Athletic Complex finished with that great Field Turf.

 

Dr. K. was at as many events as his schedule would allow and is proud of the way the Pirates perform as teams on the turf and on the court and in the Port Angeles community as well.

 

I think he’ll bleed a little Black and Gold each time the Pirates take on his SKV Cardinals.

 

Scooter Chapman is a member of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association’s Hall of Fame for his decades of work as an umpire and print and broadcast journalist.

 

Reach him at scooter@olypen.com.