Purcell will host the first round of the Regional Tournament starting tonight at 6 p.m. when the Frederick Bombers tip off with the Dragons at 6 p.m. followed by the boys around 7:30 p.m.
Coach Roger Raper’s Dragons will play host to Comanche.
Both Purcell teams won District Championships last Saturday night against Lexington.
Coach Toney Cooper’s Dragons iced the Lady Bulldogs, 41-28 while Raper’s Dragons ran away with an 88-63 victory.
“Credit Lexington,” Raper said. “They really got off to a great start offensively. Fortunately we also were scoring at a nice pace. Scoring 88 points is not an easy task. We had the most assists we’ve had all year with 21 and only 11 turnovers.”
Kobe Freeman led the Dragon offense with 24 points. He was joined in double digits by Malachi Evans with 22 and Hayden Ice with 17.
Purcell led 48-39 at intermission but pulled away in the second half much like the results of the two teams in the final regular season game February 10.
“We rebounded at a high rate which allowed us to get out and run and speed up the game,” Raper said.
Lili Del Toro paced the girls with 10 points.
Lexington actually had the lead at the end of the first period, 6-5 but out-scored the Lady Bulldogs 36-22 the rest of the way.
“I was extremely happy for Lili Del Toro,” Cooper said. “She hit some big shots in the game down the stretch for us.
“We were excited to get this game going,” Cooper continued. “In our shoot around earlier in the day I could sense a lot of nervous energy. We carried that energy into the game and got off to a very slow start.”
Nursing a tender 15-14 lead at intermission, Cooper’s message to his team was simple.
“Settle down and keep shooting. We got plenty of good looks, shots just were not falling.
“Ultimately, our defense will be the driver in how far we go this postseason,” the coach admitted. “When we needed stops, we got them which led to some easy transition buckets that allowed us to pull away in the end.
“Our efforts on both sides of the ball have to be better as we move ahead to face our next opponent. I’m happy the girls got to win District in front of our fans,” Cooper concluded.
The book on Frederick is that they never quit.
They are 16-7 on the season and pulled quite an upset knocking off Comanche in the District Tournament.
“Everyone expected Comanche to win. We will have to play at a high level and work hard,” Cooper said of Purcell’s next opponent.
Dragon notes:
The District Championship was Purcell’s 48th District title since the first one in 1932-33.
Purcell’s No. 10 ranked girls take an 18-6 record into the Regional Tournament while the No. 3 ranked boys are 22-2 heading into the Comanche contest.
The winner of the Purcell-Comanche game will face the winner of the Lone Grove-Hugo winner with that winner advancing to Area at ECU.
On the girls’ side, the winner of Purcell and Frederick will face the winner of Silo and Hugo with that winner advancing to Area.
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