By Eric Trent
The Peninsula men’s basketball team went on a Cinderella run, engineering back to back upsets of #1 seeds to claim the third place trophy at the NWAC tournament.
“We believed that eventually we were going to get good enough and when that was, I didn’t know,” Head Coach Mitch Freeman said. “We believed that we could compete, obviously, but I didn’t know if we thought we could finish in the top four. But I’ll take it.”
On Saturday, Ryley Callaghan knocked down 26 points on 3 for 4 shooting from beyond the arc to help the Pirates cruise to a 72-50 win over #1 seed Clackamas to open up tournament play.
On Sunday, Deonte Dixon erupted for 35 points, sinking the game winner with 3.4 seconds left, then swatting away the ensuing inbounds pass to push the Pirates past #1 seed Highline 83-81
On Monday, the Pirates missed their final 10 shots in the last four minutes of the game, falling to the Edmond Tritons in the semifinals, pushing the Pirates to the third/fourth place game.
Jal Deng iced two free-throws with 3.4 seconds left in regulation, then smacked away the following inbounds pass to seal a 53-51 win over Green River and clinch the third place trophy.
“I just thought, this is it. Last free throws of your collegiate career, maybe at the NWAC level. I knew it was going to go in,” Deng said. “I just tried to push myself. As a sophomore, I wanted to go out hard and give everything.”
Deng’s deflection on the in-bounds pass, to secure the win, sounded like a deafening Dikembe Mutombo block.
“I was just so happy that I got at least a piece on it so I knew they wouldn’t have a chance,” Deng said. “I just take pride in my defense. Coach tells me every day that I’m one of the best defenders out there and I just use that as confidence.”
“Words can’t express how much this team means to me. These kids played extremely hard and compete. It’s all you can ask for as a coach. They give you everything they have and when they do that it’s pretty special,” Freeman said.
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