BOYS BASKETBALL: Strong start, finish spark Perkins to victory over Norwalk

Perkins started strong and ended the same way Friday.

The result turned was a 49-46 win for Perkins over Norwalk in the opener for both teams at Norwalk High School.

The Truckers overcame a slow start to finally grab a 44-43 lead at the 3:41 mark on a bucket from Jared Cashen.

But Perkins put in a pair of baskets to take a 47-44 lead. Cashen’s basket drew the Norwalk to 47-46, but the Truckers missed two shots in the final 40 seconds.

Perkins senior Chris Baxter converted two free throws to give his team a 49-46 lead.

The Truckers had two shots to tie the game, but two Jordan Burke 3s missed. The second one rimmed out.

“Anytime you get a win under your belt it’s a good feeling,’’ Pirates coach Scott McVeigh said. “The kids weren’t down. I’m proud of them to come into a tough place and come out with a win.’’

Perkins jumped out to a 17-6 first-quarter advantage, helped by 7-of-11 shooting from the field.

“That’s good for a young team,’’ McVeigh said. “That gave us a lot of confidence and that’s what we needed. We got some open looks and luckily we knocked down some shots.’’

The Truckers were just 3-of-15 in the opening period.

“We looked like a young team with not a lot of varsity experience,’’ Norwalk coach Steve Gray said. “Offensively, we looked out of sync all night. We couldn’t put together two, three, four scores in a row.’’

Trailing 30-22 at halftime, the Truckers started strong in the third quarter and tied the game at 32-32 on a Tyson Ringle basket with 2:25 left.

Perkins, though, ended the quarter with a 39-34 lead.

Sophomore Michael Ebert, in his first varsity start, led the Pirates with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

“He was a force inside,’’ McVeigh said. “The kid works hard in practice and that carries over to the game.

Tony Haerr tossed in 10 points.

Burke netted 17 points for the Truckers, while Ty Wells, Ringle and Cashen added six apiece.

“I thought Ty Wells played well,’’ Gray said. “He played under control, made good decisions and more importantly, made the people around him better.’’

Perkins went 18-of-47 from the field and 9-of-13 from the free-throw line with 24 rebounds and 16 turnovers.

The Truckers were 19-of-56 from the field and 5-of-11 from the charity stripe with 26 boards and 17 turnovers. Cashen grabbed nine boards, while Burke picked off seven.