Pirate men hoops go 4-1 at scrimmage

Sequim Gazette staff

Peninsula College men's basketball team journeyed south on Nov. 6 to Clackamas, Ore., winning four of their five 20-minute scrimmages against some Oregon NWAACC opponents.

"It was good to play against some people who wear different colored jerseys for a change," said P.C. head coach Lance Von Vogt. "We have so many areas that we need to shore up, but now we have the evidence of where to start. This team has a high ceiling and we are working toward attaining that potential."

P.C. took 17 players and displayed different lineups in each contest. The first game versus Lane College showcased the Pirates' eight sophomores who made the trip. After a disjointed start that showed some nerves and rust, the Pirates battled their way back into the game through some pressure defense that yielded four consecutive turnovers. Mitrell Clark closed out the first game with a bang by hitting the game-winning baseline jumper as time expired.

In the second contest, Peninsula's nine freshman took the court but struggled to adjust to Clark's zone defense for the first 15 minutes of the contest.

Although the freshmen made it a close game through offensive rebounding and effort, they eventually fell to Clark, 22-19.

In game three, a mix of P.C. freshmen and sophomores played their most impressive 20 minutes of the day, securing an early lead versus Clackamas that grew throughout the contest. The Pirates collected 12 offensive rebounds in the 20-minute contest en route to a 30-20 victory against Clackamas, the two-time NWAACC defending champion.

Then sophomore Jeremiah Johnson, Peninsula's redshirts and freshmen took the floor for game four and earned a 32-29 victory over a hot-shooting Blue Mountain squad. Anthony Williams and Djuan Smith led the squad with their rebounding on both ends of the floor.

Johnson, Tim Friday and Antonio Stevenson all contributed multiple baskets in the victory as well.

The final contest of the day the entire roster played a couple of minutes each and secured the fourth victory of the day.

"I'm the glad the guys experienced some success on the court today, but truthfully the scoreboard didn't matter to us today," Von Vogt said. "Our goal was to become a better team today. Overall I believe we did. We have so much to work on to become the team we can be. We will get started on that Monday."

Up next for the Pirates is a scrimmage at 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 20, at the P.C. gymnasium versus the Blue Angels.