Peninsula Boys JV Earns another Bay League Victory against Inglewood

The Peninsula Panthers Boys JV Basketball team loaded onto the bus and they embarked on the journey north to play the Inglewood Sentinels. As the bus wove its way through traffic the atmosphere on the bus was one of melancholy as the boys reminisced about their formal activities that took place over the weekend. Once the bus arrived in front of the Inglewood gym as the boys unloaded a group of students began shouting out to the Panthers that they could not play and they should not even enter the gym. The constant phrase of “you ain’t got no game” could be heard being said repeatedly. The boys did not seem to take any of the things said to heart and they entered the gym to prepare for the game.

The first quarter began and the Panthers were playing very sloppy, not being patient on the offensive end and they were doing just as poorly on the defensive end of the floor. There was little to no weak side help and they did not speak at all with one another as the game continued on. The Panthers were able to make just enough shots to end the quarter with a 16-12 lead.

The Panthers came out of the gate for the 2nd quarter even more sluggish than they were to begin the game and the mistakes started to become many. The Panthers were reaching and grabbing on the defensive end and they were not doing much more than one pass and a quick shot on the offensive end of the floor. If it were not for junior Matt Plough the Panthers would have found themselves trailing at halftime. Due to the efforts of Matt Plough the Panthers went into halftime with a 34-31 lead having been outscored by Inglewood 19-18 in the quarter.

The 3rd quarter began with the Panthers again seeming to be in a funk, after a timeout one of the Panthers assumed that he had been substituted for and when he did not go back on the court the Panthers were assessed a technical foul for a player illegally entering the floor. The Panthers just seemed to be out of whack and they were struggling to find a balance and a consistent effort. The Sentinels on the other hand were beginning to think that they could beat the Panthers and their play began to be more consistent and they again outscored the listless Panthers 18-16 in the quarter to trail the Panthers 50-49 at the conclusion of the 3rd quarter.

The 4th quarter began with the Panthers stringing together a bunch of baskets to jump out to an 8 point lead. That lead however was quickly whittled away and the Panthers found themselves in a fight for the victory. The Panthers came out of timeout and were determined to get the victory as they pushed a 1 point lead to 8 behind a key three pointer by freshman Jack Engstrom. The Panthers were able to convert most of their free throws down the stretch and they escaped Inglewood with a hard fought 70-63 victory.

The Panthers were led by freshman Jack Engstrom with 18 points, 10 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot. Fellow freshman Won’ya Singleton added 15 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 3 assists and junior Matt Plough kicked in 10 points and 1 rebound for the Panthers. The Panthers are now 8-1 in the Bay League and face rival Palos Verdes on Thursday at 3:00 PM in the Peninsula Gym.