A long bus ride home.
That’s what Peninsula men faced after a pair of losses at the Red Devil Classic basketball tournament in Longview, despite leading both contests at halftime.
The Pirates dropped a 86-77 decision to Southwest Oregon on Thanksgiving Day and followed it up with a 77-73 overtime loss to Spokane the next day, ending their first preseason tournament early.
In the first game against Southwest Oregon’s Lakers, the Pirates got double figures from four different players and led 40-34 at halftime. But the Lakers’ Alex Demith sank eight three-pointers in 10 tries – a perfect 5-for-5 in the second half – and Southwest Oregon outscored Peninsula 52-37 in the second half.
"It was really a tale of two different games," Peninsula coach Peter Stewart said. "We were cruising along with an 11-point lead and then just collapsed."
Jesse Bean led the Pirates with 18 points while Chima-cum’s Colton Worley added 12 points and Chidi Antoinne and Port Angeles’ Cody Smithson added 10 each.
Peninsula kept the game close by out-rebounding the Lakers. The Pirates, however, were just 3-of-16 from three-point range (19 percent) while Southwest Oregon was 10-of-29 (35 percent).
"We told the boys at halftime to identify the one shooter we were concerned with," Stewart said, noting Demith’s penchant for long-range bombs. "We may have identified him, but we did not guard him."
In the Saturday game against Spokane, Peninsula got a huge game from Bean (33 points, four assists, three steals) and Antoinne (seven points, 15 rebounds), but the Pirates couldn’t hold a four-point halftime lead as the Sasquatch tied it in regulation and outscored the Pirates 9-5 in overtime.
Peninsula was just 12-of-43 from the field (28 percent) in the second half and overtime combined.
Bean got a bunch of points at the line, hitting 15-of-19 from the charity stripe. Harmeet Mahal added 10 points and nearly produced a game-winner, barely missing a 15-footer at the end of regulation.
"After a long night of meetings and team time, our effort was much more concentrated and the intensity was certainly better," Stewart said.
