No. 2 in the conference? Big deal.
The Pirates had home court, a big first half and enough in the proverbial gas tank to finish off the second-ranked Whatcom Orcas last week.Sophomore Deonte Dixon scored 19 points, Darrion Daniels came off the bench for 16 points and six rebounds — including two crucial ones in the final minutes — and Ryley Callaghan had 13 points and four assists in a 70-68 win on Jan. 13.
The visitors from Bellingham jumped out to a 12-3 lead in the opening minutes, but Dixon and the Pirates went on an 11-0 run and carried a 34-24 advantage into halftime.
With home fans decked out in “PC Proud” T-shirts during Peninsula’s annual spirit week, PC’s men managed to hold off a number of Whatcom runs in the second half, including one in the final minutes.
Chris Reis added a dozen points for the victorious Pirates.
Casey Leek led Whatcom with 20 points and Jordan Johnson scored 14.
On Jan. 23, the Pirates (2-1 in conference play, 9-8 overall) followed their big win against Whatcom with another on Jan. 15, knocking off Everett 99-90 at home and creating a six-way tie for first place in the North Division, with a half-dozen teams earning a 2-1 conference mark.Against Everett, Peninsula rolled to a 50-26 lead in the first half and held on for the nine-point victory.
Dimitri Amos had a monster game for PC off the bench, hitting nine-of-11 shots and finishing with 23 points and 20 rebounds.
Callaghan hit four 3-pointers en route to 24 points, Daniels had 15 and Dixon and Reis added 14 points apiece. Malik Mayeux had a team-high six assists.
Peninsula shot 33-of-61 (54 percent) from the field.
Everett, handcuffed by poor shooting in the first half (26 percent), rebounded well in the second to close the gap. They were led by the 31 points of Derek Brown Jr.
Looking ahead
Peninsula is back on the court Jan. 20 at Olympic (Bremerton) and at Bellevue on Jan. 23 before returning home for a Jan. 27 matchup with Skagit Valley.
North Region standings
Team Conf. Over.
Edmonds 2-1 13-3
Everett 2-1 11-7
Olympic 2-1 4-10
Peninsula 2-1 9-8
Shoreline 2-1 7-7
Sk. Valley 2-1 9-7
Bellevue 0-3 9-9
Whatcom 0-3 13-6
