Devontey Perkins' 16 points and 15 rebounds powered No. 1 Lutheran East past No. 4 Garfield Heights.
Matt Goul, cleveland.comPerkins, a 6-foot-7 junior forward, scored 16 points with 15 rebounds to power the Falcons , who are the No. 1-ranked team in the “I wanted it bad,” said Perkins, who played at Garfield Heights as a freshman.
“We had lost to them last year, and I didn’t like the way it felt. I was going to do anything to help my team win. I didn’t care if I had zero points.” Perkins’ play came amid the hype surrounding the guard matchups between his teammates and No. 4 Garfield Heights , led by reigning Ohio Mr. Basketball Marcus Johnson. While Johnson scored a game-high 23 points with five assists, it didn’t come easy against the Falcons’ presses and trapping defense that often forced the basketball out of his hands. “That guy still finds a way to get his shots off and to keep his poise,” Lutheran East coach Sam Liggins said. “For a kid like that, he gets pressured that way and face-guarded that way and never complains and continues to play the game all the way through and make plays for his teammates, he’s a special kid.” Juniors Chris Hill and Ty Harrison led the defensive assignments against Johnson, while sophomore guard Dylan Zeigler — who holds Division I college scholarship offers, including Ohio State, where Johnson once committed before flipping in the fall to South Carolina — set the tone early on offense. Zeigler scored 11 of his 14 points in the first half to push Lutheran East to a double-digit lead. While the Bulldogs cut it to four in the third quarter, the Falcons took control with second-chance points, courtesy of Perkins. Of his 15 rebounds, seven came on the offensive glass. Liggins and his staff agreed to play the Bulldogs, who weren’t on their schedule until last week. He said he accepted it because of his program’s goal to become the OHSAA’s first team to win four straight state championships. “It’s not about winning and losing,” Liggins said of the regular season. “This is about the journey and the ultimate goal. We need games like this, crowds like this, moments like this, just to make you guys feel what it’s going to feel like to finally hold that trophy.”Matt Goul has covered high school sports with some college and pros sprinkled in since 2005 with a bachelor's degree from Kent State University. He has covered high school basketball and football in Northeast...
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