Pirate men bested by Whatcom’s prolific scoring

Published 2:57 pm Friday, March 21, 2014

By Ryan Hueter

The Buccaneer

Peninsula College

The Pirates are coming down the home stretch with an eye on the playoffs, but they hit a speed bump on Wednesday night.

Hampered by foul trouble and unable to match Whatcom’s scorching shooting in the second half, the Peninsula College men’s basketball team dropped a division match-up, 102-97, to the Whatcom Orcas on Feb. 16.

The Pirates (10-3 in division, 15-7 overall) saw two players foul out, including DeShaun Freeman, who logged only 13 minutes, and three players finished the game with four fouls, putting the Orcas on the free-throw line and Peninsula at a disadvantage.

Despite the loss, the Pirates clinched a playoff berth from the NWAACC North Division. Peninsula, currently tied for second place in the division with Skagit Valley, has three regular-season games remaining.

The Orcas (9-3 in division, 17-4 overall) shot 60 percent from the field in the second period to quell the Pirates’ rally.

Mitrell Clark scored 28 points, distributed five assists, and nabbed four steals to pace Peninsula. Sammeon Waller contributed with 22 points.

Pat Voeut led five Orcas in double-figures with 22 points and six assists. Evan Coulter chipped in with 20 points.

Peninsula will travel to Edmonds to face the Tritons (3-9 in division, 5-15 overall) at 7 p.m. on Feb. 19.