Game Report: Pike vs. Perry Meridian

<p>Tuesday evening I got out to the west side of Indianapolis to watch the Pike Red Devils take on the Perry Meridian Falcones. This was a matchup between two long time Indiana High School Basketball coaches with a combined 1030 career wins. Pike’s Bill Zych entered last night with 441 wins while Perry Meridian’s Mark James sits at 589 victories which is seventh all-time. On this night though, Coach James’ Falcones were no match for the talent and athleticism of Pike.</p> <p>Perry Meridian hung around through the first eight minutes thanks to getting to the free thrown line and knocking in a three-pointer in the final seconds to pull within five points, 18-13. However, from that point on, it was pretty much all going the Red Devils way. Pike was hot from beyond the arc in the second quarter to build a 12 point advantage heading into the halftime break.</p> <p>Connor McNabb had a strong third quarter for the Falcones to try and keep his team in the game, but they couldn’t ever cut into the deficit to put any pressure on Pike. [player_tooltip player_id="870226" first="Ryan" last="Conwell"] was just too much to contain as he would go on to score a game-high 20 points to lead the Red Devils to a 64-43 victory over Perry. His teammates [player_tooltip player_id="1267675" first="Dante" last="Porch"], [player_tooltip player_id="1049176" first="Devon" last="Woods"], and [player_tooltip player_id="870282" first="Jonah" last="Pennington"] each added 10 points each for Pike’s balanced scoring attack. For Perry Meridian, it was Connor McNabb leading the way with 12 points in the loss.</p> <h3>Player Evaluations</h3> <p>We will release more evaluations in our weekly evaluation recap on Sunday. However, for now, here are a few of Tuesday night’s top performers from Pike vs. Perry Meridian.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="870226" first="Ryan" last="Conwell"] (Pike H.S. 2022): The South Florida commit continued his excellent senior season Tuesday night with 20 points in Pike’s easy victory. Conwell showed off his smooth shooting stroke hitting a couple of threes off of the bounce. His ability to create his own shot at all three levels is what makes him one of the best pure scorers in the state of Indiana. Averaging 23.5 points per game to lead the 3-1 Red Devils.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1267675" first="Dante" last="Porch"] (Pike H.S. 2022): Porch had some strong showings over the summer and has continued to play well into the high school season. The 6’5" pick-and-pop forward is a good outside shooter with the length and athleticism to finish around the basket as well. Has the ability to attack closeouts and get to the basket. Porch is one for small colleges to recruit as we enter the new year. </p> <p>Connor McNabb (Perry Meridian H.S. 2022): McNabb is a 6’4" wing/forward that showed off a good skill level on Tuesday night. Playing against an athletic defense, McNabb was able to drive it in either direction to finish inside. On one play he displayed good strength and body control finishing an And-1. Good shooter from the perimeter as well. He is one for Division III’s to check on through his senior season. </p>