Peninsula travels to Redondo Union HS to Take on Mighty SeaHawks in Bay League Action

This afternoon, 1-19-16, the Peninsula Panthers and Redondo Seahawks faced off in a Bay League game that was switched from the usual start time of 4:30 PM to 3:00 PM due to both schools being in final exams for the 1st semester of school. The Seahawks came out of the gate firing on all cylinders and they quickly jumped out on the Panthers who looked like they were exhausted and totally out of it due to the pressures of final exams. The Panthers were making uncharacteristic mistakes that led to easy baskets by the Seahawks. As the quarter came to a close the Seahawks had jumped out to a 21-12 lead.

The 2nd quarter began with the same mistakes being made by the Panthers and the Seahawks were still victimizing them. As the 2nd quarter progressed you could see glimpses of the real Panthers coming to life and as each player began to wake up from their final’s slumber the Panthers began to ignite on the offensive end of the floor. As the quarter came to a close the Panthers who had been down by as many as 16 points found themselves trailing by 8 with the score being 41-33 at the half.

What ever was said to the Panthers at halftime must have been something special because the Panther team that showed up on the floor to begin the 2nd half of the game was not the same team that went into the locker room trailing by 8 points. The Panthers bonded together and soon the drives that Redondo was getting in the first half that led to easy baskets at the rim were all but eliminated. The Panthers shut down the offensive lane for the Seahawks and the Panthers began taking offensive charges on the Seahawks as they came flying down the lane. As the Panthers were shutting down the lane and easy opportunities for the Seahawks they found their shooting touch as their shots began to fall. As the quarter came to an end the Panthers had outscored the Seahawks 21-12 in the quarter to trail the Seahawks 53-52 heading into the 4th and final quarter.

The Panthers were able to keep the momentum going as the Panthers continued to increase the defensive pressure on the Seahawks and the shots that were falling for them in the 1st half were suddenly bouncing away in the 2nd half. The Panthers were also limiting the Seahawks to one opportunity to score in the 2nd half unlike the 1st half where the Seahawks were getting 2nd and 3rd looks at the basket every time. The Panthers led by the freshmen duo of Won’ya Singleton and Jack Engstrom took control in the 4th and final quarter with Engstrom netting 8 of his 17 points in the quarter and Singleton netting 9 points in the quarter mostly from free throws. The two freshmen tallied 17 points and 34 points in the contest.

The Panthers are now 11-4 on the season and 3-0 in the Bay League competition with a very tough game against Inglewood High School this Friday at 4:30 PM in the Peninsula Main Gym. The Panthers will be finishing up their final exams on Friday and hopefully they will not be as cloudy as they were today during the game.

The Panthers were led by Won’ya Singleton with 34 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, Jack Engstrom added 17 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals and sophomore Aidan Kuykendall and junior Nick Frasso added 7 points a piece in the effort.