Peninsula Boys JV Basketball Team Begins Holiday Tournament Against a Tough Compton HS Team

The Peninsula Panthers Boys JV Basketball team last played on 12-17-15 in a home game against the visiting Torrance Tartars so to think that they might be a little rusty after such a long lay-off with the holidays and all their activities being a distraction you would be right. The first round of the annual Mira Costa Holiday Tournament began for the Panthers today at 1:30 PM. Both teams appeared to be out of sorts and their play showed a large amount of rust on both teams. The first quarter could best be described as a comedy of errors as each team committed numerous unforced errors, had a great deal of difficulty putting the ball in the basket and it would be fair to say that it was an ugly quarter of basketball. The quarter ended with the teams knotted at a score of 7-7.

The break between the 1st and 2nd quarter did very little to change this for either team as each one made mistake after mistake and the pace of the game was less than desirable. Each team took turns throwing the ball away with very little defensive pressure being applied and there was a total lack of continuity on both teams offensive and defensive efforts. The 2nd quarter ended the same way that the 1st quarter had ended with each team looking just as bad as the other one did on both the defensive and offensive sides of the ball. Both teams managed to score only 12 points in the quarter and the score at halftime was 21-21.

The break at halftime was just what the doctor ordered for Peninsula for they came out of the halftime break more focus and determined to get back to what made them successful. The players emerged from the halftime talk with their coach with a stern look of determination on their faces and they began the 2nd half of the game as a new team. Their defensive pressure was 100 times greater than it had been at any time in the 1st half and they stopped their selfish style of play and actually began moving the ball around on the offensive end and often found the open man for wide open shots. The difference in this 3rd quarter compared to the first half was their true effort of trying to play team basketball. The shots that were missed in the 1st half were now beginning to fall and the Panthers began to slowly increase their lead throughout the quarter. The Panthers ended the 3rd quarter outscoring Compton 20-5 to take a  41-26 lead heading into the 4th and final quarter.

The Panthers and Compton each began the 4th quarter with a fast flurry of plays that saw the ball moving up and down the court at a much faster pace than it had been in the first 3 quarters of play. Unfortunately, with the quickened pace of play the return of the sloppy play that encompassed the entire first half returned and the game quickly returned to an undesirable state. The Panthers struggled getting past the Compton press and if they did they rarely found themselves able to convert the opportunities that were presenting themselves. The Panthers focus which had been so dominant in the 3rd quarter on the defensive end of the floor quickly ended and easy buckets scored by Compton brought back too many painful memories from the 1st half of the game. Fortunately for the Panthers, the quarter ended with the Panthers holding a slight 13-11 edge in the quarter and the final score was Peninsula 54- Compton 37. The Panthers will next play on Monday (12-28-15) at 4:30 PM against Da Vinci HS who defeated Hawthorne HS in an earlier match-up.
The Panthers now stand at 5-3 on the season and today the were led  by Junior forward Nick Frasso who had 14 points, 4 rebounds,  and 3 steals. Joining Frasso in leading the Panthers was freshman Won'ya Singleton with 12 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals and 6 assists and reshman Dominic Blanco added 8 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals and 3 blocks.