By Gaylen Duskey
realfang@citlink.net
It was a "shoulda, coulda, woulda" game for Calhoun Thursday night.
The Red Devils shoulda played a little better defense. If they did they coulda kept big Zack Perkey from so many easy baskets. If they did that they woulda won the game.
The problem is they didn't and Tyler Consolidated came away with a 58-54 victory over Calhoun in the LKC Playoff game between the No. 6 teams from the North and South divisions.
There were a few other "shoulda, woulda, coulda" things too, such as free throw shooting and defense against the three-point shot. But, que sera sera ...
Tyler, now 4-16, led by a slim margin throughout the last part of the fourth quarter and did not put things away until Zach Minger hit two free throws with 9.9 seconds to play to give the Knights a four-point lead which turned out to be the final score: 58-54.
The game was close throughout with neither team enjoying a double-digit lead at any time.
Calhoun, which led early, came back to take the lead midway through the fourth period only to have a Tyler spurt give it a lead it never relinquished.
Perkey, a muscular if slow 6-4 center, led Tyler with 18 points and 15 rebounds. He did his damage from in the paint for the most part with none of his points coming from more than 10 feet away from the basket.
The long range bombing was done mostly by Dustin Snider who had four treys and 16 points. Tyler also had three-point goals from Minger, Cory Lowe and Aaron Estep. Overall Tyler had seven three-point shots.
Calhoun was led by Zach Moore with 24 points and 15 rebounds while Justin Gerwig added 18 points.
The Red Devils also had eight points from Chucky Kendall and two each from Anthony Richards and Kyle Keesler. Harold McCumbers, Greg Myers, Daniel Sims and Tyler Bennett all played but did not score.
Tyler also won the junior varsity game -- its first win of the season -- by a 61-37 count.
Senior center Darren Oliver led the Knights with 23.
Calhoun was led by Anthony Richards with eight while Brandon Sampson and Harold McCumbers added seven apiece. Greg Myers had six while Stewart Fitzwater, Quentin "Q Dawg" Murphy, Sims and Bennett added two each while CJ Myers chipped in with a point. "Double Oh Joe" Overbaugh and Noah "Mad Dog" Sweeney both played but did not score.
Calhoun came into the game after suffering a doubleheader loss at South Harrison last week.
The Red Devils lost the varsity game to the Hawks by a 52-41 count while losing the junior varsity game by a 51-41 count.
Gerwig led the way for the Red Devils with 18 points against the Hawks while Moore and Keesler added eight each. McCumbers had three while Cai Clothier and Richards both had two.
In the junior varsity game Sampson led all scorers with 17 while Sims had 10, Greg Myers eight and Richards six.
Calhoun returns to action tonight with a doubleheader at Doddridge County.
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