Perrin boys roll into area

Perrin wasted little time in taking control after allowing Saint Jo an early 2-0 lead in their Class A Division I bi-district matchup.

The Pirates scored the next 19 points and never let the Panthers back in the game in a 75-38 win Monday, Feb. 17. Perrin will face Union Hill in Blue Ridge at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20. Coach Todd McCormick said the big run after a slow start was key.

“Always want to get out to a good start,” McCormick said. “We kept getting stops and then it started dropping for us.” 

The Pirates missed their first five shots before Cole Keeney put Perrin on the board. Jack McCormick free throws and 3-pointers from Hunter Walker and Ryan Richerson forced Saint Jo into a timeout down 10-2 barely three minutes into the contest. 

McCormick closed the quarter by finding his shooting touch, converting from both inside and outside the arc. Fabian Lopez’s bucket off the glass ended a 6-of-20 shooting quarter and had the Pirates up 17-2 after one quarter.

With Perrin continuing to put the defensive pressure on Saint Jo, which was just 1-11 shooting in the opening frame, the Panthers wilted which led to several fast break opportunities for the Pirates. Perrin looked to do further damage from outside with both Case Lambert and McCormick converting two 3-pointers each in the quarter. 

For the half, Perrin was just 13-of-39 shooting but the defense kept Saint Jo into 24% shooting (5-of-22) to take a 35-11 lead at the half.

With the game in control, Perrin Coach Todd McCormick began inserting reserves who all responded in kind. Senior Fabian Lopez had eight points and five rebounds in the final two quarters. Riley Sims had five points in the final four minutes. Manny Quevedo closed out the Pirate scoring with a 3-pointer while Noah Morris added a basket.

McCormick had 27 points and Lopez 10 for Perrin.