Peninsula Boys JV Basketball Team takes on rival Palos Verdes to Close Bay League Season

On Thursday afternoon at 3:00 Pm the Peninsula Panthers Boys JV team took on league rival Palos Verdes in the final game of the Bay League schedule for the JV level. The Panthers were hoping to keep pace with Mira Costa who was also 8-1 heading into the finale. The Panthers came out filled with emotion as did the SeaKings and each one played like a boxer always planning the follow punch instead of just going out and getting it done. The first quarter ended with the Panthers holding a slim 16-14 lead.

The 2nd quarter began and the two sides began amping up their own versions of physical play with a player on each side receiving technical fouls for excessive behavior. The two teams were still posturing one another and trying not to be out done by the other one so the true basketball game was not being played. The scoring in the 2nd quarter for both teams suffered because of this as the Panthers were only able to outscore the SeaKings 9-7 to take a 25-21 lead heading into halftime.

The Panthers must have been given a strong talking to at the half because they came out of the gate in the 3rd quarter and they became a totally different team. They stopped talking to their opponents and then they went about playing the kind of basketball that had gotten them to the 8-1 mark heading into this game. The Panthers increased their defensive effort and began to shut down the SeaKings who were being limited to one shot attempt at the basket. The SeaKings were challenged on every shot they attempted and not many of them fell. In the 3rd quarter the Panthers began pushing the tempo of the game up to their speed and they were able to outscore the SeaKings 15-6 in the quarter to take a commanding 40-27 lead heading into the 4th and final quarter.

The 4th quarter began with the Panthers continuing on with their usual style of play with every missed shot by the SeaKings being pushed down the court by the Panthers. The Panthers were now getting wide open lay-ups and you could see the fatigue setting in on the SeaKings. The Panthers went on to outscore the SeaKings 22-9 in the quarter to earn the victory by a score of 62-36.

The Panthers finished tied with Mira Costa at 9-1 to earn the Co-Championship of the JV Basketball Division for 2016. The Panthers were led by freshman Won’ya Singleton with 19 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 blocked shot. Fellow freshman jack Engstrom added 14 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists (10 of his points were scored in the 4th quarter). All of the Panthers contributed in this team victory and this edition of Panther Basketball was truly a team effort. Hats off to the 2015-2016 Panthers for a job well done, and congrats on being Bay League Champions! One thing is for sure, the future of Peninsula Basketball is looking very bright as the frosh/soph team finished with an identical recored and was also Bay League Champion!