The EvCC Men’s Basketball team played a pivotal game against Peninsula on Saturday night in order to tighten their grip on the number one spot in NWAC North and further strengthening their case for the number one team in all of the NWAC.

The game started off slow, with a few trips up and down the court taking place before Everett struck first, two minutes into the first half. However, Peninsula had command of the court and led for most of the first half. Everett fought hard to stay within striking distance though, finishing off the half only six points down, with the score 43-37 in favor of Peninsula.

The game for Everett changed at the half. EvCC Head Coach Mike Trautman related Saturday’s game with the last time they had played Peninsula stating, “They were blistering hot, and we were ice cold.” Trautman continued, saying that their focus after the half was to do what Peninsula couldn’t. “They’re not gonna shoot that hot and we’re gonna make shots,” said Trautman.

The start of the second half saw a constant back and forth tug-o-war for the lead. A change in mentality is what seemed to get Everett back into contention.

“We just had to keep pushing, because we knew if we had our heads down, we wouldn’t get nowhere,” said Markieth Brown Jr., EvCC’s freshman guard.

The game came down to the last few seconds. With 10 seconds left in the half, Peninsula committed a foul, giving Brown Jr. two free throws to increase the lead to 87-84. Peninsula was then given the ball but threw the pass away with just seconds on the clock, giving Everett the ball and control over the eventual outcome, winning 87-84 over Peninsula, the number three team in NWAC North.

Notable players for Saturday’s game include Cameron Plautz with 13 rebounds, and Markieth Brown Jr. accounting for 27 of Everett’s 87 points.

Everett will be taking on Bellevue on Feb 14 at 7:00 at Bellevue.