KENNEWICK — The Peninsula College men’s basketball team jumped out to a 23-13 lead in the first nine minutes and never looked back, crushing the Clackamas Cougars 72-50 in the first round of the Northwest Athletic Conference tournament at Toyota Center.
The fourth-seeded Pirates held South Region MVP Brandon Halter to 10 points while sending the first-seed Cougars into the consolation bracket.
Peninsula (15-12) will next face Highline (22-7) in the second round today at noon. The Thunderbirds opened the tournament with a 67-57 win over Wenatchee Valley.
The Cougars took a 7-4 lead in the opening minutes Saturday, but that was the last lead Clackamas would have for the rest of the game, as Peninsula maneuvered around the Cougars’ zone defensive scheme and rained a torrential downpour of 3s in the first half.
“We didn’t set out for a certain amount of 3s,” Peninsula’s head coach, Mitch Freeman said.
“When they zoned, we had good looks. We wanted to make sure we were taking the available shots, take rhythm shots.”
Led by point guard Ryley Callaghan’s 4 for 7 shooting from beyond the arc, the Pirates snatched a 10-point lead halfway through the first.
“After that first shot, I got hit, missed my free-throw, unfortunately, but my first 3-pointer opened up the flood gates for me,” Callaghan said.
At one point, Callaghan scored 11 straight points for the Pirates, with three treys and a driving lay-in.
“It was awesome. Everyone gets excited. That’s what I live for.” Callaghan said.
Peninsula owned the offensive boards, totaling nine to only four for Clackamas.
“Which is not unlike us. We are a very good offensive rebounding team as it is.” Freeman said.
Those rebounds proved instrumental in ebbing the flow of Clackamas offensively.
“Those second-chance points are extremely important, especially when you’re shooting a low percentage. The extra possessions are vital in terms of creating more scoring opportunities,” Freeman said.
Center Jonah Cook came off the bench and put on a Dikembe Mutombo-like display, blocking four shots inside for Peninsula.
The Cougars slowly climbed back in the game before the half, with mid-range jumpers from Jaylen Edwards and Halter closing the gap to 28-24 at the half.
The Pirates opened up the second half on fire, with Jal Deng and Callaghan hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to push the lead back to 10 points with only a minute expired in the second half.
Peninsula didn’t let up, putting on the burners and challenging the Cougars’ 1-2-2 zone, attacking the rim and forcing the Cougars to slow the tempo by fouling.
An and-1 by Callaghan, two free throws by Deng and a layup by guard Deonte Dixon pushed the lead to 20 points halfway through the second half.
Peninsula wouldn’t slacken its offensive pressure, putting the pressure on by continuing to test the Cougars’ interior defense.
With time winding down, Clackamas’ decided to not intentionally foul down the stretch, and the Pirates kept making shots to finish off the 22-point blowout win.
Callaghan put on an MVP performance, dropping 29 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and handing out 6 assists, while committing only one turnover.
Deng put up 10 points and eight rebounds while also locking down and containing Halter.
“Jal did a great job on Halter. He’s one of the best defenders in the North Division. All the coaches voted on it,” Freeman said.
Peninsula has first-hand knowledge of the challenge they face against Highline today.
“We know a lot about them. We played them at the beginning of the year,” Freeman said.
“They beat us by 25, so it’s a game that feels like the right type of game for us to play, because it’s someone we know about.
“They’re a very good basketball team. They’re athletic, long, they’ll zone you, they’re aggressive and they have a number of guys that can score.
“It’s a tough matchup, but we know them pretty well.”
Peninsula 72, Clackamas 50
Peninsula 28 44— 72
Clackamas 24 26— 50
Individual scoring
Peninsula (72)
Hobbs 7, Deng 10, Callaghan 29, Mayeux 3, Dixon 8, Reis 8, Ironside 3, Cook 4, Domach, Nibler.
Clackamas (50)
Edwards 8, Kieta 12, Satrum 2, Martin 10, Fiskum 1, Halter 10, Boumann 7, Litterell, Rixie, Baldwin.
