PORT ANGELES — Isaiah Lopez had a first half to remember, draining 5 of 7 3-point shots and scoring 22 of his game-high 24 points, as the Peninsula College men built a 56-20 halftime lead on the way to a 97-74 NWAC North Region blowout on Wednesday.
Collectively, the Pirates connected on nearly 60 percent of their field goal attempts in swamping the Dolphins early.
Lopez finished with 24 points, seven assists, seven rebounds and a pair of steals.
Jaiden Blackmon shot 10-for-16 (62.5 percent) from the floor in scoring 22 points, with eight rebounds and three assists for Peninsula (4-4, 10-11).
Antonio Odum added a double-double with 14 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals.
DeShawn Rushmeyer had 14 points, five rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals.
Port Townsend’s Keidan Guzman scored three points with six rebounds, two assists and a steal and a block apiece in 19 minutes of playing time for the Orcas.
The Whatcom women, low on numbers, forfeited the contest with Peninsula (8-0, 16-2).
The Pirates visit Edmonds on Saturday with the men’s tipoff at 2 p.m. and the women at 4 p.m.
Peninsula 97, Whatcom 74
Whatcom 20 54 — 74
Peninsula 56 41 — 97
Whatcom (74) — Bloomfield 24, Creswell 16, Handley 9, Wabalaku 6, Perez 6, Wells 3 Ngcobo 3, Guzman 3, Solomon 2,Thomas 2.
Peninsula (97) — Lopez 24, Blackmon 22, Odum 14, Rushmeyer 14, McNeal 9, Shamp 8, Sulaiman 6.
Jay Cline/Peninsula College Athletics Peninsula College’s Isaiah Lopez absorbs contact while shooting the ball during the Pirates’ 97-74 NWAC North Region men’s basketball victory Wednesday night.
Jay Cline/Peninsula College Athletics Peninsula College’s DeShawn Rushmeyer rises for a layup during the Pirates’ 97-74 NWAC North Region men’s basketball victory Wednesday night.
