Peninsula Boys JV Basketball Team Travels to Rival Palos Verdes for Bay League Contest

On Tuesday afternoon at 3:00 PM the Peninsula Panthers JV Boys Basketball team traveled down to the other side of the hill to take on league rival Palos Verdes Seaking’s in a Bay League game. The game was at an unusual time of 3:00 PM instead of the ordinary 4:30 PM tip-off time due to Palos Verdes not having a Girls JV basketball team. The teams came out of the gate and both sides appeared to be sluggish and just not playing very well. The two teams traded baskets throughout the entire first quarter with neither team doing much on the defensive end of the court. The Panthers were attacking the basket and the Seaking’s were getting wide open looks from 3 point range and were making many of their shots. The 1st quarter ended with the Panthers leading the Seaking’s 19-17.

The 2nd quarter began and the action remained the same for both squads who were putting a great deal of effort into their offensive pursuits and very little effort into their defensive efforts. The score went back and forth with each team going on small runs only to be caught by the other who would make a similar run. Freshamn Won’ya Singleton caught fire for the Panthers in the 2nd quarter almost single handedly keeping the Panthers in the game scoring 13 points in the quarter while sophomore Peter Frederiksen for Palos Verdes scored 10 points in the quarter for the Seaking’s and the 2nd quarter ended with both sides being tied at 36 a piece.

The 2 teams came out after halftime and it was apparent that the Panthers were beginning to buckle down on the defensive end and they began to force the Seaking’s into numerous unforced errors. The difference between the 3rd quarter and the 1st half was that the Panthers were now beginning to convert all of these opportunities into baskets. The Panthers received a balanced approached to scoring in the 3rd quarter and they outscored the Seaking’s by a score of 18-8 to take a 54-44 lead heading into the last quarter of the game.

The Panthers continued their defensive effort and they again seemed to be getting stronger as the 2nd half went on. The Seaking’s were now having difficulty staying up with the Panthers who were now running with fast break opportunities at every chance they got. The Panthers were relentless with this pressure and soon they bumped the 10 lead they held at the end of the 3rd quarter to a 20 point lead as time began winding down in the 4th quarter. As the Panthers began substituting the Seaking’s made a small run at them behind the shooting of sophomore Peter Frederiksen who lead the Seaking’s in scoring with 35 points. No other Seaking scored more than 6 points. The Panthers were led by freshman Won’ya Singleton who led all scorer’s with 36 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal. Joining Singleton was fellow freshman Jack Engstrom who tallied 16 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 assist. Junior Nick Frasso jumped in with 8 points, 2 rebounds, and a blocked shot.

The Panthers are now 13-4 overall and they are 5-0 in Bay League action, the 2nd half of the season will be far more difficult than the first half was and the Panthers are going to have to put together more focused and driven efforts if they wish to repeat the record for the 2nd half of the season. The Panthers next travel to Morningside HS to take on the Monarchs on Friday, January 29th, 2016 at 4:30 PM. Come out and support the Panthers as they continue their journey through the difficult Bay League schedule.