Peninsula JV Boys Loss 57-56 in El Segundo Holiday Classic Semis

On 1-3-14 the Peninsula Panthers Boys JV Team took on the host school El Segundo HS in the semi-final match. The game was a closely contested affair and both teams seemed to struggle against the defensive pressure of the other. The first quarter ended with El Segundo leading 20-14. The second quarter was the same as the first with each team taking turns going on mini runs. Neither team was able to come up with the knock out punch to separate from the other and El Segundo took a 37-31 lead at the half.

The third quarter began with the Panthers beginning to miss open shots and foul shots and El Segundo was able to increase their lead to 50-41. The Panthers were making many mistakes due to their youth and inexperience and still managed to only be down by 9.

The fourth and final quarter began with the Panthers coming out with a renewed intensity on defense and forcing many errors on the El Segundo side. The Panthers were able to cut the lead and actually took the lead at 56-55 with less than one minute left in the game. The Panthers fouled and El Segundo made both foul shots to take a 57-56 lead with 43 seconds left in the game. Both teams traded missed shots and with 21 seconds to go in the game El Segundo fouled Peninsula resulting in 2 foul shots. The Panthers made the first one but missed the second and were forced to foul El Segundo. With 5 seconds left in the game the El Segundo player missed both foul shots and Peninsula called time out with 4 seconds remaining. The Panthers were unable to get the final shot off and lost a hard fought battle. Close games like this are learning experiences and with the youthful make-up of the Panthers team this can do nothing but help them in the future. The Panthers now sit at 3-5 on the season and face Calabasas tomorrow for 3rd place in the tournament.