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Derrick Portee of the Camp Humphreys Bulldogs shoots over Suwon Trail Blazers defender Harry LaFountaine during Wednesday's round-robin play in the Osan Pacificwide Invitational Basketball Tournament. The Bulldogs won, 106-70.

Derrick Portee of the Camp Humphreys Bulldogs shoots over Suwon Trail Blazers defender Harry LaFountaine during Wednesday's round-robin play in the Osan Pacificwide Invitational Basketball Tournament. The Bulldogs won, 106-70. (Dave Ornauer / S&S)

¶ See bottom of story for Wednesday's Osan tourney summaries and Pacific high school sports results.

OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea — Latasha Peterson and Salina Tulley had already gone down with injuries. Now the Suwon Lady Panthers were losing players to fouls.

Ralnetta Peterson was the first to foul out, in the third quarter. Then, Emma Ramos exited with 9:41 left in the fourth, leaving four players on the court.

Down by 26 points, Suwon could have given up. Even Okinawa Queens coach Clarence Franklin, whose team went on to win 66-42, offered the Lady Panthers one of his players to even out the sides.

They refused, continuing to battle short-handed until the buzzer.

“We just wanted to play,” guard Brandy Hudson said afterward. “We just wanted to play it out, have a good time and finish the game.”

“Figure it this way,” guard Pam Haley added. “They still only beat us by 24 points with four people.”

That resolve has kept the Lady Panthers going in the Osan Pacificwide Invitational Basketball Tournament, where they completed round-robin play with a 1-4 record. The club’s only victory came on opening day over Osan American, a high school team.

Suwon entered the event with eight players on its roster. Four others went on leave just before the tournament. So Hudson and Haley, who traveled to Korea from typhoon-ravaged Guam with the Andersen men’s team, offered their services.

“We’re glad to have the help,” Latasha Peterson said as she adjusted an ice bag over her damaged right ankle.

Without Hudson and Haley, the Lady Panthers might not have enough players to take the court. Later Wednesday, Suwon lost 65-36 to tournament host Osan, another game in which it finished with four on the court.

“We do it, though,” Peterson said. “We come to play. Win or lose, we come to play as a team.”

Despite the obstacles, Peterson said the club remains optimistic heading into the weekend.

“When I get off my ankle, hopefully, you’ll see another show,” she said.

Queens center Robin Szilagyi could sympathize with the Lady Panthers. They too brought eight players and lost guard Jamesa Rogers the first day to a damaged finger.

“We know how it is,” Szilagyi said. “You dig deep. That’s where it comes from. We’re all here about playing the game. You play until the final buzzer, no matter how many players you have.”

As the Lady Panthers finished their game with Osan, the Andersen Bombers closed a 72-66 loss to Korea’s Yongsan Runnin’ Rebels with four players on the court.

They came into the contest with six players, and Alonzo Hall and Bryan Shipman fouled out in the fourth quarter.

Wednesday's Osan tourney summaries

Men

Camp Humphreys 106, Suwon 70

Marquis Hudson’s three-pointer with 3:20 left in the third quarter triggered a 13-2 run that put the Bulldogs up for good. Derrick Portee had 18 of his team-high 20 points in the second half, when Tony Roberson chipped in all of his 13. Suwon’s Patrick McMillian led all scorers with 29.

Yongsan 72, Andersen 66

Robert Batiste and Mordecai Johnson both hit three three-pointers and finished with 13 points as the Runnin’ Rebels rallied from a 15-point third-quarter deficit. Marlowe Grimsley scored 21 points to pace the Bombers, who started the game with six players but lost two to foulouts.

Yongsan 2, Osan American 0, forfeit

Classroom commitments kept most of the Cougars away from the scheduled 11 a.m. contest.

Women

Okinawa 66, Suwon 42

Chrystal Smith hit five 3-pointers, pouring in 22 points for the Queens, who led by as many as 28 after opening with a 19-2 run. Brandy Hudson had 21 points to pace the Lady Panthers, who lost two players to injury and another pair to foul trouble.

Yongsan 59, Camp Humphreys 58

Krystal Hardy scored 25 points, including four threes, as the Lady Runnin’ Rebels built a nine-point lead down the stretch and hung on. Tracey Coursey added 15 points. Samantha Taylor scored 20 to pace the Lady Bulldogs.

Osan Defenders 65, Suwon 36

Nicole Bowman tossed in 20 points, hitting from the right side with 8:50 left in the second period to put the Lady Defenders up for good, 12-11. The lead ballooned to as many as 30 down the stretch. Pam Haley hit four threes and wound up with 18 points for the Lady Panthers, who again finished with four players on the floor.

High school summaries

Japan

Wrestling

Wednesday, At Camp Zama, Japan

Nile C. Kinnick 25, Yokota 19

101 pounds — Yokota by forfeit; 108 — Jerry Moore, Yokota, pinned Richard Bendo, :25; 115 — Jonathan Carradine, Kinnick, by forfeit; 122 — Chase Mahaffey, Kinnick, pinned Pil Chong Yun, 3:24; 129 — Go Yamada, Kinnick, pinned Tom Rogers, :43; 135 — Yamato Cibulka, Kinnick, pinned Jared Waters, 2:40; 141 — Ken Cardell, Kinnick, pinned Jonathan Cordell, :58; 148 — Shane Anderson, Kinnick, pinned Will Gerig, :21; 158 — DeAngelo Galang, Kinnick, pinned Dennis Keslar, 1:11; 168 — Tairiku Tejada, Kinnick, pinned Josh Smith, 1:28; 180 — Jeremy Pearcey, Yokota, decisioned Ryan Hopp, 6-2; Heavyweight — Blake Rienhold, Yokota, by forfeit

Yokota 32, Zama American 16

101 pounds — Jerry Moore, Yokota, pinned Nick Jones, 1:24; 108 — Kyle Sais, Yokota, by forfeit; 115 — Anthony Garcia, Zama, pinned Jonathan Carradine, 1:54; 122 — David O’Brien, Zama, pinned Pil Chong Yun, 1:53; 129 — Jared Waters, Yokota, by forfeit; 135 — Tom Rogers, Yokota, pinned Alex McInstry, 2:17; 141 — Lex Smith, Zama, pinned Jonathan Cordell, :39; 148 — Shane Anderson, Yokota, pinned Alex Choi, 5:11; 158 — Dennis Keslar, Yokota, by forfeit; 168 — Josh Smith, Yokota, by forfeit; 180 — Jeremy Pearcey, Yokota, by forfeit; Heavyweight — Jesse Poblete, Zama, pinned Jason Vaughan, 5:30

Nile C. Kinnick 26, Zama American 22

101 pounds — Nick Jones, Zama, by forfeit; 108 — Richard Bendo, Kinnick, by forfeit; 115 — Anthony Garcia, Zama, by forfeit; 122 — David O’Brien, Zama, decisioned Chase Mahaffey, 4-1; 129 — Yamato Cibulka, Kinnick, by forfeit; 135 — Go Yamada, Kinnick, pinned Alex McInstry, :44; 141 — Lex Smith, Zama, def. Ken Cardwell, injury default, 2:04; 148 — Alex Choi, Zama, decisioned Will Gerig, 5-2; 158 — DeAngelo Galang, Kinnick, by forfeit; 168 — James Talbot, Kinnick by forfeit; 180 — Aldrich Mutuc, Kinnick, by forfeit; Heavyweight — David Burnett, Zama, pinned Robert Loker, 3:29

Okinawa

Boys basketball

Wednesday

Kubasaki 61, Kadena 59

Adam Hodges grabbed the rebound off a missed foul shot to preserve the victory for the Dragons (7-2), who got 21 points and 16 rebounds from Bill Gray. T.J. Bostick pulled down 12 rebounds. The Panthers (4-7) got 20 points from DaJuan Kindell and 14 from Jamal Robinson.

Tuesday

Gushikawa 98, Kadena 88

Playing their fourth game in five days, the Panthers slipped to 1-5 in Okinawa-American League play, falling to the island’s No. 2 Japanese team. DaJuan Kindell topped Kadena with 25 points, James Williams had 14 points and 10 rebounds and Erogies Grigley added 14 points.

Girls basketball

Wednesday

Kadena 50, Kubasaki 44

The Lady Panthers (4-3) went up by 10 points at halftime and then held off the Lady Dragons (3-6) as Lauren Smith struck for a game-high 20 points. Erin Foote and Shanon Sumter each scored 11 for Kubasaki.

author picture
Dave Ornauer has been employed by or assigned to Stars and Stripes Pacific almost continuously since March 5, 1981. He covers interservice and high school sports at DODEA-Pacific schools and manages the Pacific Storm Tracker.

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