Perkins races past Lima Bath into Elite 8

BOWLING GREEN — Perkins took it to the rim. The Pirates made only two shots from outside the lane in Wednesday's Division IV regional semifinal at the Stroh Center. Close to the hoop? Game over. Perkins attacked relentlessly and ran away — literally — from Lima Bath 55-35 to advance to Saturday's regional final at 3 p.m. against Plain City Johnathan Alder back at Bowling Green State University. The main instigators in the track meet dominated by Perkins were junior speedsters Bryce Davie and Kaden Legando. They constantly drove into the lane for easy buckets, taking advantage of one-on-one matchups, or got out on fast breaks for layups. Legando came off the bench to lead all scorers with 16 points. Davie added 15 points and seven rebounds from his point guard position. "I thought we did a really good job attacking the rim," Perkins coach Andy Hoying said. "They were staying stuck to our shooters a little bit and (Davie and Legando) did a great job of taking care of the ball and taking their guys off the dribble and making an impact at the rim all game. Just phenomenal." Both teams started slow and there were only three total points scored in the first 5 1/2 minutes. Davie got the ball rolling when he burst to the rim for a layup and a free throw when he was fouled to give Perkins a 4-2 lead with 2:24 left in the first quarter. The Pirates never trailed the rest of the way. "I saw an opening so I took it and ended up finishing, which was nice," Davie said. "I wanted to get everyone going, get that adrenaline flowing. "When the shot isn't falling, we have other guys and we really attack the paint well. There are always opportunities to go in and be physical and I thought we did a really good job at that." Grant Kuhnle's corner 3 as time ticked away in the first quarter gave the Pirates a 9-4 lead at the first break. Perkins (24-2) scored the first seven points of the second quarter — five by the springy Legando. "I feel like it was our defense that got us there," Legando said. "Getting out, pushing it in transition, that's what Coach Hoying preaches. Just rebound out of that zone and pushing it." Bath had a disastrous start with turnovers on its first three possessions. The Wildcats (17-9) missed their first 11 shots from the field and didn't make a shot from the field until 4:26 remained in the first half. "How we started games was not something we did well all year," Bath coach Dre White said. "We did respond, but it was not an ideal start." Perkins' only other 3 came with two minutes left in the first half when Sam Schweinfurth struck from outside to give the Pirates a 23-9 lead. The Pirates then spread the court and Legando zipped to the basket to give Perkins a 25-11 lead. "It's definitely not that easy every game," Legando said. "It's just my teammates finding me, whether I'm cutting to the hoop or them getting me the ball or coach Hoying drawing up a play for me." Bath scored six straight points midway through the third quarter to wake up its crowd and cut Perkins' lead to 31-23. The Pirates did not panic, answering with a 7-0 run started by a Davie drive and spin for two. "We struggled to keep them in front of us. Davie created a lot for them," White said. "They value the basketball very well. They're a tough guard. We knew we had to identify their shooters." An 8-0 run early in the fourth quarter delivered the knockout for Perkins. The Pirates broke Bath's press for two straight Kellen Glass baskets. A Kuhnle basket and two Glass free throws made it 50-30 with 4:08 to play. "We came out and kind of wore them down throughout the game," Hoying said. "Even though they made that little burst we were able to weather the storm and got a couple easy buckets in transition." Bath star Logan Markley, a physical 6-foot-4 senior, was limited to nine points on 2-for-16 shooting. The Wildcats shot just 26 percent from the field. "He's a great player," Hoying said. "We did a good job of contesting him on every shot and always having a body between him and the rim. It was a great job, especially on the back side of our zone." Perkins shot 44 percent from the field, but was only 2 for 10 from long range. Bath was 2 for 11 from the 3-point line. Perkins won the rebounding battle 36-28. Glass and Levi Groot each matched Davie with seven boards. Perkins will play for the program's first trip to the final four Saturday. "It's pretty crazy to see how far we've come," Legando said. "I'd say at the beginning of the year no one projected us to get this far." PERKINS (24-2) Kellen Glass 2 4-4 8, Sam Schweinfurth 1 0-0 3, Kash Koch 0 0-0 0, Bryce Davie 5 5-7 15, Levi Groot 2 3-10 7, Kaden Legando 8 0-0 16, Grant Kuhnle 2 1-2 6. TOTALS 20 13-23 55 BATH (17-9) Dagan Hawkins 4 2-2 10, Logan Markley 2 5-7 9, Josiah Clark 3 0-0 7, Daniel Cole 1 0-0 3, Zach Welsch 0 1-2 1, Drew Pester 1 2-4 4, Connor Core 0 1-2 1. TOTALS 11 11-17 35 Perkins 9 18 11 17 — 55 Bath 4 10 12 9 — 35 Three-point goals: Perkins 2 (Schweinfurth, Kuhnle); Bath 2 (Clark, Cole)