Perkins opens Hoying era with win at Huron

HURON — Perkins will likely be very balanced offensively this year. On any given night, a different person could lead the Pirates in scoring. It was Kellen Glass that took the reins early for Perkins, scoring 23 points in the Pirates' 57-40 Sandusky Bay Conference crossover win over Huron on Wednesday. "He was phenomenal tonight," said first-year Perkins coach Andy Hoying of Glass. "He hit some really tough shots in the lane. He had a couple nice and-ones. Guys were driving and dishing it off to him. He'll continue to do that." Perkins (1-0) led 10-4 early after buckets from Glass and Levi Groot, but the Tigers (0-1) answered. Grant Periat scored before consecutive 3s from Quentin Conway and Nixon Dike put Huron up 12-10. The Pirates stormed back over the final minute of the first quarter. After Grant Kuhnle scored to tie the game, Glass scored on consecutive possessions. Perkins then picked a steal and that led to a bucket from Kaden Legando to put the Pirates up 18-12 after eight minutes. "I thought we did a lot of things well," Hoying said. "I thought the biggest thing tonight was playing with incredible effort and energy. I thought we did and I thought that was the difference maker. We had a lot of guys flying around defensively. "Things offensively weren't always pretty, but we'll get there." From there, the Perkins defense shut down Huron. The Tigers didn't make a field goal in the second quarter, missing all 12 shots they attempted. A triple from Groot pushed the margin to 12, a lead Perkins maintained at 27-15 at halftime. "We had a short time to prepare, but we got them ready," Hoying said. "I think (Huron) is great. They scrap it out. They have a couple nice players. (Conway) had a decent game tonight. I think the future is bright for them." The Pirates continued to flex their muscles in the third quarter. Groot and Glass scored to open the quarter and a 31-15 edge. Huron finally ended a 11:41 drought without a field goal when Periat canned a 3-pointer. But, Perkins kept coming and pushed the lead later in the quarter. The Pirates used an 8-2 run over the final 5:46 of the quarter to go up 42-23. "We have to finish better around the basket," Huron coach Toby Miller said. "That's a credit to them. They did a great job of walling up without fouling. It's tough to score over big, physical kids that are technically sound. Credit to Perkins. We'll move forward." Early in the fourth quarter, Glass made two free throws and added a bucket as Perkins pushed its lead as big as 46-23. The Tigers played their best ball of the night from there, scoring the next eight points to get within 46-31. But, Glass scored and Kuhnle connected on a 3 to push the Perkins advantage back to 51-33. "I thought overall in the second half once we settled in, we competed very well," Miller said. "They're just so physically imposing and a good defensive team. I think that shocked us a little bit. Their press bothered us. They got the ball inside and finished around the basket." Conway paced Huron with 13 points. The Tigers are off until next Saturday (Dec. 6) when they host Galion. "Quentin was great for us," Miller said. "More importantly, he had a great attitude. He was a great leader and he was trying to bring guys with him. If he does that all year, I think we can really be a team that can vie for a chance at the Bay (Division championship). "We obviously need other guys to step up and play with him." Perkins isn't off quite as long as Huron. The Pirates host Cardinal Stritch next Thursday. "We shared the ball phenomenally," Hoying said. "What I really liked is we took care of it late when things got a little hairy. We definitely have some things to clean up offensively. We want to get some really good looks." PERKINS (1-0) Kellen Glass 9 5-6 23, Sam Schweinfurth 2 0-0 6, Kash Koch 2 1-4 6, Bryce Davie 1 1-2 3, Levi Groot 3 0-1 7, Grant Kuhnle 3 0-0 7, Ty Obergefell 0 1-2 1, Kaden Legando 2 0-0 4. TOTALS 22 8-15 57 HURON (0-1) Caleb Staley 1 1-2 3, Quentin Conway 5 1-2 13, Parker Schafer 0 1-4 1, Grant Periat 4 0-0 9, Paul Murray 0 0-0 0, Nixon Dike 3 2-2 9, Jack Raglow 2 0-0 5. TOTALS 15 5-10 40 Perkins 18 9 15 15 — 57Huron 12 3 8 17 — 40 Three-point goals: Perkins 5 (Schweinfurth 2, Koch, Groot, Kuhnle); Huron 5 (Conway 2, Periat, Dike, Raglow)