Reis to the rescue: Buzzer-beater derails Edmonds, wins over Whatcom and Everett lift Pirates into first place

By Eric Trent

With time expiring, sophomore guard Chris Reis split two defenders and dropped in a left-handed, buzzer-beating layup helping Peninsula down first-place Edmonds 73-72, Saturday, Feb. 6 in Port Angeles.

The Pirates (15-9, 8-2) then defeated Whatcom 75-71 on Wednesday, and Everett on Sunday, 69-65; while Edmonds (17-6, 6-4) lost to Everett and Whatcom, giving Peninsula a two game, first-place cushion in the North Division.

The top 2 seeds in each division will host a first-round playoff game in the NWAC tournament this year.

With 6 seconds remaining, Edmonds Dylan Carter missed a 1-1 free throw, Dimitri Amos grabbed the rebound and launched a pass to Reis who was streaming down the court.

Reis caught the pass, drove to the rim between two defenders and threw up a lefty shot that fell in.

The crowd erupted and the Pirates swarmed Reis before he could pull himself up from the court.

“I told the guys before the free-throw that we had no timeouts, so we had to push it if he missed,” Reis said.

“Dimitri threw an amazing pass to me and I just thought, ‘drive and try to put pressure on the rim.’ That late in the game, the other team doesn’t want to foul. I just went up and finished,” Reis said.

Head Coach Mitch Freeman added, “I’m excited for him. He’s paid the price for the success he’s having.

“He played well the entire game. Ultimately, it was fitting to have him get the game-winning shot.”

Peninsula reeled off a 10-0 run to start the first half, finding success inside the paint on quick-hitters, while the Tritons struggled to find the basket.

“We wanted to open up the court and allow our guys to attack off the bounce, to get shots off in rhythm,” Freeman said.

Malik Mayuex added, “I just thought we did a good job of utilizing our bigs. We were tough defensively forcing them to take tough shots.”

With Edmonds keying in on Peninsula’s shooters, the Pirates were able to control the boards, with Mayeux, Jeremiah Hobbs and Amos helping Peninsula gain a 12-rebound advantage at the half.

“We knew that Ryley [Callaghan] and Deonte [Dixon] were gonna get denied by Edmonds because they’ve done that the last 5 times we’ve played them. Someone else had to step up tonight and that’s one way we did so,” Hobbs said.

Edmonds eventually climbed back in it, pulling within 6 at the break with Peninsula up 37-31.

“They are a very athletic team, they play with a ton of energy. They force you to play a well-rounded basketball game,” Freeman said.

The Tritons came out of the locker room ready to play. With continual drives to the rim, Edmonds pulled within 3 before Amos threw down a vicious dunk in the face of a defender.

With 13 minutes left to play, Dixon hit his head during a scramble for the ball and stood up with blood pouring down his face. He left for the remainder of the game.

“Deonte went down and we had even more motivation. We knew how bad he wanted to be out there with us, so we had to stick together and fight until time expired,” Reis said.

Edmonds took their first lead of the game with 9:48 left to play, at 57-56.

The Pirates and Tritons fought back and forth with repeated lead changes until the final seconds.

Down 72-69 with 7 seconds remaining, Darrion Daniels kept Peninsula alive, driving through the heart of Edmonds defense for a layup, cutting the lead back to one.

After fouling Edmonds on the inbounds pass, Carter missed his free-throw. Amos pulled in the rebound and heaved a laser to Reis who laid in the game-winner.

“We have a lot of sophomores on our team that have a lot of experience. We just kept our cool and we’ve got guys like Ryley and Dimitri who are both ice cold when pressure hits,” Hobbs said.

“We wanted this win real bad. Edmonds has had out number the last few meetings. We got a few breaks, and fighting until the end paid off,” Reis said.

Amos finished with a double-double, with 13 points and 10 boards. Mayeux finished with 16 points and 8 boards. Reis put up 13 points and 5 rebounds, including 3 for 5 from downtown.

“We’re starting to play very good. I think we’re going to continue to play our best brand of basketball as we move forward the next six games,” Freeman said.

Peninsula faces Olympic (7-14, 5-5) tonight in Port Angeles at 7 p.m

Remaining Men’s Regular Season Basketball Schedule

Feb. 17 2016 – 5:00 p.m. vs Olympic College in Port Angeles, WA.

Feb. 20 2016 – 4:00 p.m. vs Bellevue in Port Angeles, WA.

Feb. 24 2016 – 5:00 p.m. vs Skagit Valley in Mount Vernon, WA.

Feb. 27 2016 – 2:00 p.m. vs Shoreline in Shoreline, WA.