Central bounces Perryville boys basketball team from district tournament

~ The Tigers set up a semfinal rematch with Notre Dame with a 51-35 win over the Pirates

All the strengths for the Central boys basketball team were on display for everyone to see in the first round of the Class 4 District 1 tournament Saturday at Central High School.

The Tigers dominated in the paint, controlled the boards and used their transition game to fuel a 51-35 victory over Perryville that vaulted the third-seeded Tigers into a district semifinal matchup with second-seeded Notre Dame at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Central defeated Notre Dame 64-59 at the Show Me Center last Monday.

"We rebounded well, and our transition game was pretty good," Central coach Drew Church said after the Tigers improved to 15-9 on the season. "We were worried about their size a little bit, but I thought defensively we rotated pretty well, and once we kind of got adjusted to what they were doing we were able to communicate and kind of know where the ball was going."

Perryville senior Trenton Green opened the game with a layup off a nice feed from Eli Tripp, but that was the only lead the Pirates had in the game. The Tigers scored 11 of the next 13 points, hitting their first four shots from the field -- all in the lane -- and quickly put some distance between themselves and the Pirates.

Central sophomore guard Al Young scored his team's first five points and consistently pushed the ball down court as part of the Tigers' transition game.

"We like to get back to our offense real quick and score, get it to the hole," Young said. "I felt like when we would pressure them, they would turn it over or make passes that we could take. We got some passes, took it to the hole and scored off them and got ahead."

The Tigers scored as many baskets -- seven -- as Perryville attempted in the first quarter and led 18-9 after one period. In the second quarter, Central held the Pirates to just 1-of-5 shooting from the field and created six turnovers in taking a 30-12 lead at intermission.

Colin Schirmer, Perryville's 6-foot-8 senior center, was never a factor, scoring just six points against a defense determined to collapse inside and force the Pirates to beat them from the outside.

"You don't want [Schirmer] catching the ball too low," Church said. "If he catches the ball that low, he's tough to guard. We wanted to push him out and make sure if he did catch the ball we had somebody digging from the outside or just walling up and making him make a play. And then, when the shot goes up, you have to get him out of there and box him out."

As a result, Perryville had just one offensive rebound through the first three quarters, which ended with Central enjoying a 41-19 advantage.

"Cape came out and did a good job rebounding on the offensive glass," Perryville coach Justin Dreyer said. "We knew that would be a big part of this game, and they came out and just attacked the offensive glass and got out in transition. That was two things we talked about before the game, keeping them out of transition and keeping them off the glass, and we didn't do that coming out. It kind of got away from us there pretty early, but that's kind of been the game plan against us all year, take away our inside game and force us to take some jump shots. And here, late in the season, we struggled with that, and it showed tonight. But I was proud of the effort."

Shutting down Schirmer was an integral part of the Tigers' game plan.

"We practiced on playing behind [Schirmer] more because he can shoot the ball," said Central forward Andre Statam, a 6-6 junior swingman who alternated with 6-7 senior forward Jamal Cox defending Schirmer. Statum led Central with 11 points, while Cox added nine.

"I thought they did a good job keeping him out of the game and off the boards," Church said.

"I figured they were going to come after me," said Schirmer, who had 11 points in a loss to the Tigers earlier this season. "They put bodies on me this time. It was physical."

Dreyer was disappointed in his team's finish, but reveled in the fact his squad more than doubled their win output from last season in finishing 13-12.

"Our goals were a little bit higher than what we accomplished, but that's the reason why you set goals, you try to reach them," he said. "Our effort and attitude this year was a lot better than it was last year. ... I told my five seniors that they're leaving the program in a lot better hands than what it was last year, so I'm proud of them for that."

Perryville 9 3 7 16 -- 35

Central 18 12 11 10 -- 51

PERRYVILLE (35) -- Matt Moran 3, Grant Dix 4, Trenton Green 3, Luke Schlichting 2, Brett Schnurbusch 6, Garrett Martin 2, Eric Lappe 2, Eli Tripp 7, Colin Schirmer 6. FG 11, FT 11-14, F 13. (3-pointers: Moran 1, Schnurbusch 1. Fouled out: none)

CENTRAL (51) -- Nikylus Thompson 2, Al Young 9, Kaleb Ward 2, Davonte Nunley-Bell 4, Jamal Cox 11, Chase Hagerty 6, Mikey Jones 4, Andre Statam 13. FG 20, FT 10-19, F 12. (3-pointers: Statam 1. Fouled out: none)