Pirates hit the ground running in opener

PERKINS TWP. — There were a lot of unknowns. But with less than seven days to prepare, Perkins boys basketball coach Eric Kochendorfer knew one thing he'd get out of his team. "We knew we have good team chemistry and cohesiveness," Kochendorfer said. "These kids play really well together, and that was the biggest thing I took away from tonight." The Pirates built a double-digit lead after one quarter against visiting St. Paul on Saturday. And when the Flyers had a chance to make a game of it late in the second quarter, the Pirates closed the door and cruised to a 73-40 non-conference win at Perkins High School. "We really shared the basketball well, and how much they were cheering each other on and focused on the game plan was evident," Kochendorfer said. "I thought we had some opportunities to cause some chaos defensively, and we were able to force a lot of early turnovers to set the tempo early on." Seven days prior, several Perkins players were playing in the Division IV state football championship game, a 37-36 loss to Indian Valley on Dec. 7 in Canton. The football team was honored prior to the varsity game, then the basketball team built a 22-10 lead after one quarter. Perkins (1-0) led 36-16 after a basket inside by Tim Boals, but then the Flyers (3-2) made their lone run of the night. Consecutive baskets by Landon Fries was answered in the form of an inside score by Perkins' Kellen Glass for a 38-20 lead. But then St. Paul's Nolan McCall and Fries made consecutive 3s and the Flyers again had possession of the basketball down 38-26 with a chance to cut it to 10 or even single-digits with 2:01 left in the half. But the Flyers turned it over, and that was all the Pirates needed. Glass, Joey Diederich and Boals scored consecutively, including twice in transition off St. Paul turnovers. The Flyers' Grant Kuhnle scored with 14 seconds left in the half, but it was a 44-28 Perkins lead. Less than a minute into the third quarter, Kash Koch scored two straight times down the floor. Instead of seeing the lead reduced to single-digits, the Pirates were up 48-28 and far from done. Ahead 48-33, the Pirates closed the third on an 18-6 scoring run to open up a 66-39 lead. Boals and Diederich again led the charge, and Sam Schweinfurth made one of his three 3-pointers. "That was a key point in the game," Kochendorfer said of the final two minutes of the first half. "We have some good shooters and some kids who can run the floor. We will go through some lulls from time-to-time where the ball doesn't go through the net for us, but overall our intensity was strong throughout the game. "We got a couple of key turnovers in that stretch and got out on the break and finished, then hit a couple 3s that really gave us some momentum." St. Paul coach Steve Minor knew that two-minute sequence cost his team a chance to stay competitive. "We weren't able to keep it there," he said. "We just did not get down the floor. I understand there are different factors … I'm sure they were geared up on adrenaline after their football run and ceremony before the game. "But at the same time, this isn't the team they will have a few weeks and months from now, and they had kids on their roster who saw their opportunity and took advantage of it," Minor added. "They did a good job of rotating guys in and out who were constantly getting after it." St. Paul got 13 points and four rebounds from Fries, while Kuhnle scored 10. McCall added eight points and seven rebounds. The Flyers travel to South Central on Thursday for a Firelands Conference game. "It comes down to being able to consistently defend, execute and play basketball, and we didn't do that," Minor said. "So I'll take the blame for that." Boals finished with 17 points and six rebounds on 8-of-13 shooting for Perkins. Diederich had 15 points and five rebounds, while Schweinfurth scored 13, and both Glass and Vinny Strohl each added eight points. The Pirates have little time to rest, as the crosstown trip to Sandusky for an SBC Lake Division game awaits Friday. "I couldn't be prouder tonight," Kochendorfer said. "Our legs were a bit tired, but our guys who came in off the bench did a really good job. Everyone who played was able to contribute and really did something positive for our team." ST. PAUL (3-2) Jacob Zuccaro 1-0—2, Grant Kuhnle 4-0—10, Brock Houck 1-0—2, Korey Frazee 2-0—5, Brady Fritz 0-3—3, Nolan McCall 3-0—8, Landon Fries 4-4—13. TOTALS 15-7—43 PERKINS (1-0) Ashton Wadsworth 1-0—2, Sam Schweinfurth 5-0—13, Kash Koch 2-0—4, Joey Diederich 7-1—15, Bryce Davie 2-0—4, Kaden Legando 3-0—6, Kellen Glass 4-0—8, Vinny Strohl 3-0—8, Tim Boals 8-1—17, Levi Groot 1-0—2. TOTALS 36-2—79 St. Paul 10 18 11 4 — 39 Perkins 22 22 22 13 — 79 Three-point goals: St. Paul 5 (Kuhnle 2, McCall 2, Frazee); Perkins 5 (Schweinfurth 3, Strohl 2