At least on Thursday night, Seahawk takeaways were not popular in Aberdeen.
Peninsula’s Seahawks cashed in on Aberdeen turnovers to sweep a co-ed basketball doubleheader at Sam Benn Gym.
Capitalizing on 35 Bobcat miscues, Peninsula’s girls pulled away to a 60-33 triumph in the opening half of the non-league twin bill. Peninsula’s boys completed the sweep by rallying for a 48-44 victory in the nightcap.
BOYS
Seahawks 48, Bobcats 44
Aberdeen actually handled Peninsula’s pressure for the bulk of this defensive battle. The Bobcats were guilty of 17 turnovers, six fewer than the visitors from Gig Harbor.
Seven of Aberdeen’s miscues, however, came in the final 10 minutes — several during a juncture in which Peninsula moved ahead to stay.
“We haven’t seen a lot of pressure in the last few games,” AHS coach Mark Buckman explained. “That’s something we need to work on in practice. They got us tired first.”
Peninsula went on a 15-4 run midway through the second half to grab a 43-35 lead with about four minutes remaining in the contest.
Forcing some turnovers and cashing in at the foul line, the Bobcats crept back into contention. Harlan Troy converted a feed from Victor Gomez to trim the deficit to 45-42 with 1:17 remaining. Then Aberdeen’s Brendan Castleberry-Taylor made a pair of free throws with 20 seconds left to reduce the margin to one.
Peninsula’s Roman Bockhorn answered with two foul shots 1.2 seconds later. After the Bobcats missed from the field and the Seahawks from the foul line, Peninsula’s Nate Thompson made the second of two free throws with 5.4 seconds on the clock to finally put the game out of reach.
Seth Kastaler paced Peninsula (3-6) with 15 points before fouling out with 1:33 remaining. All five of Kastaler’s fouls were committed in the fourth quarter.
Castleberry-Taylor amassed a team-high 12 points and seven rebounds. Bobcat sophomore point guard Ben Dublanko contributed 10 points and three steals before also fouling out in the late going.
Gomez handed out four assists.
Buckman was pleased with his team’s defensive performance.
“If we play that type of defense in the Evergreen Conference, we will certainly be able to compete,” the Bobcat coach concluded.
GIRLS
Seahawks 60, Bobcats 33
Aberdeen’s turnovers outnumbered its field-goal attempts as Peninsula applied unrelenting pressure in the backcourt.
On the infrequent occasions the Bobcats (4-3) were able to beat the press, they often had a lay-up. At one stage in the third quarter, they were shooting better than 50 percent from the field but were still trailing by 18 due to 28 turnovers at the time.
“Our half-court offense has been working great. It’s a matter of getting the ball to half-court,” Aberdeen coach Jeff Niemi said. “Obviously, it’s back to the drawing board for us because every single team we see will probably use that type of (2-1-2) press.”
The Bobcats also didn’t have an answer for Belle Frazier. Frequently getting the ball underneath following AHS backcourt turnovers, the 5-foot-10 sophomore scored all 24 of her points in the first three quarters.
Although they never led, the Bobcats hung tough for a half. Following a pair of Kyra Gallinger baskets, Dani Buckman put down a 3-point shot to reduce the deficit to 21-19 with 2:44 left prior to intermission.
Peninsula (7-2) increased its lead to 29-21 at the half. Then, incredibly, the Bobcats turned it over on nine of their first 10 possessions of the third quarter as the Seahawks pulled away.
Gallinger, Jillian Swor and Reagan Glanz shared Bobcat scoring honors with seven points apiece. Glanz also grabbed seven rebounds, while Gallinger swiped three steals.
Both Bobcat teams will open Evergreen 2A Conference play next week against Black Hills. The girls visit the Wolves on Jan. 5, while the boys host Black Hills the following night.
GIRLS
Peninsula 16 13 15 16 — 60
Aberdeen 8 13 7 5 — 33
Peninsula (60) — Walch 3, Ritchie 6, Olive 5, Pappuleas 8, Frazier 24, Palagyi, Smith 2, Tyler 2, Richter 4, Petersen 4, Waage 2. FG — 28-65 (.431). FT — 2-10.
Aberdeen (33) — Buckman 6, Glanz 7, Gallinger 7, Rabung 2, Swor 7, Jones 4, Dawson, Heikkila, Slyter, Roberts, Krenz. FG — 14-34 (.412). FT — 2-10.
BOYS
Peninsula 6 13 15 14 — 48
Aberdeen 10 9 14 11 — 44
Peninsula (48) — McLaughlin 10, McClain 2, Kastaler 15, Brinkman 10, Johnson, Miller, Lichau, Baker, Thompson 6, Bockhorn 5, Kanouse. FG — 19-39 (.487). FT — 5-9.
Aberdeen (44) — Dublanko 10, Troy 4, Gomez 7, Metke, Castleberry-Taylor 12, Roiko 4, Coburn, Collett 7. FG — 16-45 (.356). FT — 11-16.
JV — Aberdeen 51, Peninsula 48. Cody Sayres 15 points for Aberdeen.
C squad — Aberdeen 49, Peninsula 36.
