Pirates fall in regional quarterfinals

Pirates fall in regional quarterfinals Brian Smith Wed, 03/06/2024 - 5:07 pm Switching defenses, depending on what a team is doing, is a fairly standard practice in sports. Perrin did just that throughout the night Feb. 27 against Dodd City in their Class A regional quarterfinal match-up. It mattered very little as the Hornets got out early using three-pointers and then muscled its way late for inside buckets to preserve a 60-54 win over the No.5-ranked Pirates at Sanger High. Perrin ends its season a very impressive 33-5 while Dodd City moved on to the regional tournament at 30-7. Perrin Mentor Todd McCormick praised the Hornets for their work. “They were on fire,” McCormick noted. “It didn’t matter what we did defensively. Zone. Man-to-man. They just played.” TheHornetsjumped out to an 8-0 lead, paced by a pair of three-pointers, before Jack McCormick got Perrin on the board two minutes into the contest. Dodd City closed the frame by hitting six shots in a row for an 8-13 (61%) shooting quarter. Perrin showed it could hit shots from outside food as both Cole Keeney and Case Lambert did so to keep the Pirates within 23-17 after one. Just when a large crowd thought they would see an offensive shootout, the defenses kicked in and the hot shooting dropped off. Dodd City took an 11-point leadenly to have baskets from Keeney and McCormick cut the lead back to seven. Both squads shot just more than 40% (Dodd City 5-12, Perrin 4-9) in the second, allowing Perrin to stay within 35-28 at the half. Perrin got within four to start the second half with Lambert converting from both inside and out. Dodd City had an answer with a pair of three-pointers putting the lead back into double figures at 44-33 with 3:21 left in the third. Junior Ryan Richerson had a late bucket as did McCormick to bring the lead back down to seven, 46-39 as the fourth quarter commenced. Richerson free throws and a Lambert three-pointer made things interesting with 5:41 to go, the Pirates within 4644. Over the next four minutes, Dodd City would build its lead back to eight, 53-45. Perrin had one last gasp, a McCormick bucket and Keeney free throws bringing Perrin within four with 27 seconds to go. Free throws and baskets down the stretch, including an offensive rebound and outback off a free throw in the waning seconds, would seal Perrin’s fate. McCormick had 20 points and Lambert 16 for the Pirates.