Pirates regain second place in North
NWAACC North standings (as of Feb. 6)
Team Conf. Over.
Whatcom 9-1 17-3
Peninsula 8-2 18-3
Bellevue 7-2 17-2
Shoreline 7-3 13-8
Seattle 6-4 11-9
Olympic 2-7 5-14
Skagit Valley 2-8 6-12
Edmonds 1-7 1-15
Everett 1-9 4-16
by MICHAEL DASHIELL
Sequim Gazette
Inside or out, the Peninsula Pirates can be absolutely lethal.
Just ask Skagit Valley.
Pirate guard J.T. Terrell buried six 3-pointers and tallied 32 points while P.C. big man DeShaun Freeman had 30 points from the post as the Pirates routed the host Cardinals 104-92 on Feb. 4 in Mount Vernon.
Freeman was efficient inside, knocking down 13 of 19 shots, and the Pirates made the Cardinals work after getting to the free-throw line 37 times, knocking down 29 of them.
And when Skagit closed in on Peninsula posts, Terrell and company made them pay, hitting 11 3-pointers in 25 tries (44 percent).
“We had a very good inside-outside combo; I don’t know if it’s happened before that P.C.’s had two guys go for 30 [points],” Peninsula coach Lance Von Vogt said. “That made it very difficult for Skagit Valley to stay with us. They had to pick their poison.”
Down 16 points by halftime, Skagit blitzed the P.C. defense for 57 second-half points but it wasn’t nearly enough.
“Skagit … is a very different place to play,” Von Vogt said. “They’ve got a student section that’s very vocal and creative; it makes for an exciting game.”
Sam Waller paced the Pirate offense with 14 points and a team-high six assists while Corey Clement added 11 points and nine rebounds.
The Pirates were impressively careful with the ball, committing just seven turnovers and not giving up a single point to Skagit from their miscues.
“We have really good guards, guys that have got experience,” Von Vogt said.
“It makes the offense run so much easier [and] the pace we’re running at is a lot faster,” he said, noting the Pirates are averaging an extra 15-20 possessions per game this season.
Dalton Daniels led the Cardinals with 22 points and eight assists; Justin Downer added 21 points.
Peninsula (8-2 in NWAACC play, 18-3 overall) is in second place and is back on the road heading north this week, with a date against the North division-leading Whatcom Orcas on Feb. 8. The Pirates then host Edmonds on Feb. 11.
With three of the top four ranked teams in the North division, Von Vogt said he knows his squad will be battle-tested when they try to defend their NWAACC title at the conference tournament in March.
“We’re not there yet with the consistency,” Von Vogt said. “But it’s so much fun seeing these young men grow. We’re not just winning basketball games; we’re impacting young men in a positive way.”
Pirates pummel Storm
The Pirates, who have lost at home just once in coach Lance Von Vogt’s two-year stay at Peninsula, kept their record nearly spotless with a 98-77 win against the Seattle Storm on Feb. 1.
The Pirates shot 40 percent in the first half to build a 37-29 lead but couldn’t shake the Storm in the early minutes of the second half.
Peninsula then erupted for 61 total second-half points, led by Freeman. The 6-foot 7-inch post racked up 26 points and 12 rebounds as P.C. shot 62 percent in the second half.
Dudley Ewell hit for 22 points, Terrell added 18, Waller tallied 17 points, six boards and six assists and points guard Tyler Funk paced the offense with 12 assists.
In their previous meeting in Seattle, the Pirates needed a Terrell 3-pointer at the buzzer to escape with a 103-102 win.
Reach Michael Dashiell at miked@sequimgazette.com.
