Armani Perkins' big second half powers Holbrook boys basketball into Division 5 semifinals

HOLBROOK – Caution: These Bulldogs bite.

Especially No. 23.

Junior guard Armani Perkins poured in 22 of his game-high 37 points after halftime Friday night as the Holbrook High boys basketball team pulled away from Mount Greylock for a 75-60 win that sends the 11th-seeded Bulldogs into the Division 5 state semifinals.

It's the closest Holbrook has come to a state crown in recent memory. It's at least the deepest the Bulldogs have advanced in Rich Gifford's decade-plus tenure at the school. So the final buzzer was cause for a big celebration.

"Keep going," said 6-foot-2 senior forward Owen Burke, who added 17 points. "We were projected to get upset in the first round. I know we looked at that the wrong way (as motivation). Now we're in the Final Four. Just two more and we're the champs."

More:ELITE (8) COMPANY: South Shore high school MIAA tournament scoreboard

Holbrook (20-4) next will play the winner of Saturday's quarterfinal between No. 2 David Prouty (22-0) and No. 10 Roxbury Prep Charter (14-4).

The Bulldogs' memorable season, which included Burke scoring his 1,000th career point on Jan. 13, began under a cloud as a football injury cost them senior center Daveon Scott, who was projected to be a big piece of the puzzle.

"He was a three-year starter," Gifford said. "First series of downs in football season and he tore his ACL. He rushed for 1,300 yards in football (as a junior). Yeah, there was unknown. But these kids have been with me for a long time. They knew that (the plan was) we come in, work hard and do our best."

Asked if he was concerned about Scott's absence back in December, Perkins said, "Yeah, a little bit. But once we got in the flow of things we've been playing very well together."

Star turn

Perkins certainly has been lighting it up. The Mayflower Athletic Conference Comprehensive Division MVP had 19 points in a preliminary-round playoff win over No. 51 Falmouth Academy. He had a team-high 13 in a 44-41 victory over No. 19 Calvary Chapel Academy in the Round of 32. And he went off for 29 against No. 3 Hopedale in a 60-46 upset win in the Sweet 16.

"He's been there all year," Burke said. "I know he's always there to clutch up for the team and make big shots in big situations. That's what happened (tonight)."

More:This high school basketball team went on a 21-0 run on its way to advancing to the Final 4

In this one, Perkins had 8 points in the first quarter, which ended with Holbrook up, 22-11. He had 15 by halftime (the Bulldogs led 35-32 at intermission) and then exploded for 14 points in the third quarter as Holbrook outscored the visitors 26-16 to take a 61-48 cushion into the final eight minutes.

"We mixed in a lot of different defenses, but the Perkins kid must have had 40," said Mount Greylock coach Bob Thistle, a one-time Quincy resident. "We couldn't stop him. If it was a one-headed monster that would be one thing, but you can't leave the Burke kid alone. And they have some role players (who hurt us).

"We scored 60 points, which in most high school games is good enough to be in the ballgame. You just have to tip your cap to their team and their program and the Perkins kid. I saw him earlier in the week. I knew he was a good player. He had a great night."

Efficiency experts

The Bulldogs ended the first half in a mini-dry spell, scoring just 4 points over the final 4:40. They made up for it in the third by getting points on five of their first seven possessions and on 11 of their 18 trips down the court overall in the quarter.

"It just came down to making stops and we couldn't do it," Thistle said.

Burke kicked things off with 3-pointer from the left corner, one of three he knocked down for the game. Chase Doyle (18 points) answered with a trey for No. 22 Mount Greylock (17-7), but Perkins followed with a three-point play for a 41-35 lead.

More:PHOTOS: MIAA Division 3 Elite 8 - Rockland vs. Dover-Sherborn high school girls basketball

Mounties senior guard Maxwell McAlister (24 points) replied with a 3-pointer from the top of the key, but Perkins converted his own steal into a pair of free throws, and Burke drained another trey to push the Bulldogs' lead to 46-38.

Mount Greylock's Seamus Barnes (12 points) scored inside to make it 46-40, but again Perkins converted at the other end, this time driving and absorbing contact from forward Judge Martin to convert for a 48-40 lead. Perkins and freshman point guard Allen Brown Jr. then combined to hit all eight of their free throws during a span of 2:08 to bump the advantage up to 12 (56-44) before Perkins rattled in a 3-pointer to make it 59-44 and effectively put the game away with 1:29 left.

"He sure did (take over)," Thistle said of Perkins. "We're banging timeouts and strategizing and throwing different people at him with different looks and the kid's putting the ball in the basket. That's why they're moving on."

By the numbers

9: Points for Brown, who seems wise beyond his years on the court for a freshman. He applied the final touch in the third quarter with a perfect bounce pass to Malachi Desire for a layup in the half-court set that completed the scoring. "He's a great passer," Perkins said of his nephew. "He facilitates for everyone and gets everyone open shots."

8: Points for Marquis Dobay-Lindsay, a senior guard who's one of the unsung heroes for the Bulldogs. Said Gifford: "Marquis goes out and covers the (opponent's) best kid every game."

4: Points for Desire, a senior forward who played the final seven minutes with four fouls and never stopped doing the dirty work. "He's our rebounder, our hustler, doing the little things for our team to make us win," Perkins said.

2017: That was the last time Mount Greylock made a deep playoff run, losing to Palmer in the Division 3 West Sectional under the old playoff system. If that sounds vaguely familiar to South Shore fans, it's because Palmer went on to lose the state final to Hanover.

3: That's the number of total playoff wins Holbrook had over the past six tournaments, dating back to 2016. The Bulldogs have four wins already this postseason.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Perkins scores 37 to lead Holbrook boys basketball into Final Four