McLaughlin Notches 31 in Peninsula Victory Versus Auburn

McLaughlin Notches 31 in Peninsula Victory Versus Auburn
By Steven Dion

Peninsula Junior JaQuori McLaughlin

The high school basketball regular season is in the home stretch and the sprint to a league title is winding down. South Puget Sound League’s 3A division features Peninsula at the top with Auburn-Mountainview and Auburn with several other teams in the middle of the pack. The Seahawks would pay a visit to the Trojans on Friday night for an important league matchup.

From the opening tip, this contest was a real slobber-knocker as both teams had difficulty retaining possession and putting together offensive production. Auburn’s tenacious interior defense created several takeaways and kept the Hawks off the scoreboard until the 5:33 mark. Unfortunately, the Trojans did not fully capitalize on their defensive effort as they trailed 4-2 with 3:18 left in the first quarter. University of Washington commit JaQuori McLaughlin recorded his second personal foul early which relegated the Peninsula guard to the bench.

In the second frame, reserve Patreon Lee gave AHS a boost by knocking down some big buckets and firing up his teammates. The ping-pong nature of the game continued and the game was all knotted up at 22 apiece midway through the quarter. In the final possession of the half, Auburn hoisted a desperation shot and was fouled in the process by McLaughlin for his third of the game. The scoreboard read 30-28 in favor of Peninsula halfway through.

The second half began the way the first did for Auburn as their defensive intensity sparked their production. The Trojans grabbed a 39-34 lead midway through the third. Malik Williams ignited the AHS throughout the game as he led his team with 24 points and set the tone on the defensive end. His counterpart McLaughlin was forced into tough shots, but got his fair share to fall toward the end of the third.

Leading by three as the fourth started, Auburn was in prime position to complete the upset. However, Coach Jake Jackson’s Seahawks had another plan. They rolled off a 10-0 run with buckets by Garrett Smith and Austin Kingman. Williams knocked down a pair of threes to get Auburn back on track, but the Hawks kept the pedal down. Leading by a half dozen with two minutes remaining, PHS retained their lead to the end and picked up a tough division victory.

The Final Score: Peninsula 69 Auburn 62

Top Performers:
Peninsula
JaQuori McLaughlin-31 points (11/13 FTs)

Auburn
Malik Williams-24 points