The Peninsula College men wrapped up their 2023 schedule by facing one of the toughest teams in the NWAC in Green River, falling at their home tournament finale 78-58.
The men did beat Blue Mountain 71-56 on Dec. 15 in the middle game of their NWAC Crossover tournament schedule, thanks to a monster game from Aiden Olmstead.
Meanwhile, the women swept three games at the Blue Mountain Crossover tournament in Pendleton, Ore., to improve to 7-2 on the season.
In the Green River loss, the Pirate men shot 24-for-60 from the floor (40%) and just 2-for-19 (10.5%) from 3-point range.
“That was not a normal shooting night. We took all the right shots. That’s the way basketball goes sometimes,” said Peninsula coach Bryce Jacobson.
“I’m proud of our guys. They fought. There is growth, I’m seeing it.”
The Pirates hung close with the Gators, a 9-3 team that featured players at 7-foot-0, 6-foot-7, 6-foot-6 and two at 6-foot-5, until the final two minutes of the first half. After Beni Njomo made a nice spin move in the lane for a basket and Olmstead hit a bucket, the Pirates were down just 28-25 with 1:57 left in the half.
But Green River converted a rare four-point play on its next possession and finished the half on a 10-2 run to take a 38-27 lead into the break.
After Njomo scored five straight points early in the second half, hitting a bucket and a 3-pointer, the Pirates were back within eight at 40-32, but that was the closest they ever got. The Gators went on a 10-0 run to open a big lead with 14 minutes left. The closest the Pirates ever got again was 16.
Njomo had 24 points on 10-for-16 shooting. Javon Ervin had 10, while Olmstead had nine points and nine rebounds.
In the Dec. 15 win over Blue Mountain, Olmstead had his best game of the year with 16 points and 19 rebounds, 11 of them on the offensive glass.
Ervin led the team with 18 points and five assists, while Ese Onakpoma scored 12. Njomo and Patrick Odingo each scored eight.
Peninsula (6-7) takes a break over the holidays and next plays at Highline on Jan. 6.
Green River 78, Peninsula 58
GR 38 40 — 78
PC 27 31 — 58
Green River (78) — Nordland 23, Feroah 19, Burraston 13, Wright 5, Fernandez 4, Meske 4, Bailey 4, Heard 3, Workman 3.
Peninsula (58) — Njomo 24, Ervin 10, Olmstead 9, Dunning 7, Odingo 2, Odum 2.
Peninsula 71, Blue Mountain 56
BM 22 34 — 56
PC 39 32 — 71
Blue Mountain (56) — Gatling 15, Johnson 11, Aubin 9, Pierre 6, Van Tine 6, Higashi 5, Deng 2, Dudley 2.
Peninsula (71) — Ervin 18, Olmstead 16, Onakpoma 12, Njomo 8, Odingo 8, Odum 3, Rushmeyer 3, Dunning 3.
PC women win
The Peninsula women beat Chemeketa 75-39 on Dec. 15 and Green River 63-59 on Dec. 16 to complete a three-game sweep at their NWAC crossover tournament. Green River came in to the game with an 8-2 record.
The game was tight throughout with neither team able to build a big lead. The Pirates were down late 57-56 when Neah Bay’s Allie Greene hit a 3-pointer with 2:18 left to give Peninsula a 59-57 lead. The Gators were able to tie it, then Jenilee Donovan hit a bucket with 35 seconds left to give the Pirates a 61-59 lead.
Green River began fouling and the Pirates missed four straight free throws, but Shania Moananu finally hit a pair from the charity stripe with three seconds left to put the game away.
The Pirates were led by Sequim’s Jelissa Julmist, who scored 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting. Greene hit a pair of 3-pointers for 11 points, while Moananu also scored 11.
Alexa Mackey and Donovan each scored nine and each had three steals for Peninsula. Mackey led the team with eight rebounds.
In the Chemeteka game, the Pirates had a 28-6 second quarter and never looked back. Greene led the team with 12 points on a pair of 3-pointers. Ciera Tugade Agasiva and Donovan each scored 11. Mackey had eight points six rebounds and four steals.
The Pirates also beat Blue Mountain 64-62 on Dec. 14.
Peninsula takes a two-week break and plays an exhibition game on Dec. 30 against The Evergreen State College.
The Pirates begin North Region play Jan. 10.
