Full-court pressure and proficiency from the perimeter propelled the Franklin Pierce Cardinals boys basketball team to a convincing victory in a non-league game against the Sammamish Totems.

Franklin Pierce sharpshooter Claudell Quinland scored a game-high 33 points in his squad’s 81-66 win on the road against Sammamish on Jan. 3 in Bellevue. Quinland hit nine 3-pointers in the triumph.

“We like to shoot a lot of threes (3-pointers). Claudell was definitely feeling it tonight. Our guys did a good job of finding him,” Cardinals head coach John Barbee said.

Franklin Pierce unveiled a full-court press defense after every single made basket. The trapping defense resulted in a multitude of Totems turnovers, which translated into easy buckets for the Cardinals.

“That has been our staple,” Barbee said of his team’s defense. “Our defense was able to create opportunities on the offensive end. Obviously when you press, you score in spurts. I thought we had some really good runs and created a hole for them (deficit) to try to get out of.”

Despite trailing the entire game, the Totems outscored the Cardinals 23-22 in the fourth quarter of play.

“We knew coming in they weren’t ever going to quit. They are well coached and got some good stuff going on over there,” Barbee said of the Totems.

Sammamish senior forward Connor McAlaine scored a team-high 15 points in the loss.