The men’s basketball team defeated the Portland Community College Panthers, 75-62, in their home opener Wednesday evening.
“It was ugly, but we’ll take it,” said head coach Alex Kirk.
With four lead changes and nine turnovers, Kirk said the biggest advantage the Penguins had was making free throws.
Although sophomore captains Bryan Berg and Glenn Baral had a combined 24 points on the night, Kirk is still looking for improvement.
“We got lucky,” Kirk said. “Any time you put yourself in a position where things get really tight, you’re tempting fate.”
A slew of fouls were called against the Penguins in the opening of the second half, but Baral led the comeback and eventually put away the visiting Panthers. “The faster we can put that to the back of our minds, the faster we’ll be able to get back on track,” Baral said.
The Penguins (13-3) are now in first place in the NWAC southern division and look to remain unbeaten in league play as they face Linn–Benton Community College Monday night.
