Kenton’s seniors set the tone in win over Perry

By SEAN BLEVINS

Times sports editor

Kenton’s two seniors, Gavin Payne and Ethan Yoder, set the tone early and every Wildcat got involved in a 60-34 drubbing of non-league foe Lima Perry on senior night Saturday at Kenton. 

The Wildcats (11-8) won their second game in as many nights, this one in dominant fashion. Payne tied for a game-high 13 points and Yoder had nine points. They also got a lot of help from their supporting cast as eight Kenton players scored in the rout. 

“The underclassmen saw the emotion that came out of the seniors and what it meant for them,” Kenton coach Ryan Miller said. “When you can get your underclassmen to care that much about the seniors, you’re going to have a good night — and they did. They played extra hard. They played together. They had fun.”

Wildcat junior guard Korbin Johnston tallied 10 points. Sophomore guard Blaine Bushong bagged nine points. Junior guard Dawson Miller and sophomore guard Tay’Vion Glispie each had six points. Junior guard Steven Piper scored five points, and junior post Bill Wilkinson added two points.

“We did some stuff we haven’t done all year. We played zone the entire game. We thought it would be a good night to work on our zone based on what we saw on film. We are preparing for the next three games and the tournament. It’s difficult for teams to get into a flow if they have to go from man to zone to a 2-guard front zone to a one-guard zone front. We’re starting to do some of that at the right time,” coach Miller said.

Kenton played by far their best defensive game of the season and the scoreboard reflected it. The Wildcat zone stifled the Commodore (7-11) attack and only allowed 12 points in the first half. 

Payne opened the books with a layup. Bushong buried a trifecta for a 5-0 lead. Dawson Miller connected with Johnston on a give-and-go for an easy bucket. Bushong tacked on a transition layup to make it 9-0. 

Sophomore guard Marcus Hill split a pair of free throws almost three minutes in to get the Commodores on the board. Senior guard Brady Shively drilled a triple at the 3:37 mark of the first quarter to shorten it to 9-4. 

A deuce by Payne pushed it to 11-4. Lima Perry senior forward Jason Thomas threw down a thunderous slam to make it 13-6. 

Bushong finished a jelly layup then assisted a layup by Payne to increase Kenton’s lead to 17-6 after one.

“You get those young guys in there. For them to see the example that Gavin and Ethan have been this year. We’ve had a lot of adversity. You get in foul trouble. You have good halves, you have bad halves. All those things. The example they have set is not only on the court in their play, it’s been in their sportsmanship. It’s been in their coachability. They’re the first ones to compliment and to provide criticism. They are going to be greatly missed,” coach Miller said. 

Payne and Yoder both netted layups early in the second quarter to get it to 21-6. Commodore senior forward Zamere Daniel made a tough shot off of an inbounds to end the drought. 

A triple by Johnston furthered it to 24-8. Daniel converted twice from the stripe with 1:44 left in the half. Payne responded with a deuce on the other end for a 26-10 advantage.

Payne found Johnston for a 3-pointer in the final seconds after burning almost a minute off the clock, and the Wildcats went into the break with a 29-12 lead.

Dawson Miller drilled a corner triple right off the bat to start the second half scoring. Thomas made two free throws and Hill added a putback bucket to halve the lead, 32-16.

Bushong was fouled on a 3-point attempt and sank two of the three free throws. Yoder then intercepted a pass for an easy bucket and a 36-16 lead. 

Shively canned a triple and Payne countered with a deuce. Daniel converted an and-1 with 4:59 left in the third quarter and followed with a two-pointer to bring it to 38-24. Johnston dished it to Piper for a transition layup to stop the 8-2 Commodore run.

Daniel added two layups before the end of the frame, but was overshadowed by Yoder’s deep 3-pointer to beat the buzzer, putting the Wildcats up 44-28 after three.

Yoder recorded a bucket off of a goaltend call on Lima Perry shortly into the fourth quarter. He then hit Glispie for back-to-back treys in opposite corners to bump it to 56-28.

The Commodores didn’t score until the 2:25 mark of the fourth quarter when junior guard Amarion Jackson scored a layup. 

Wilkinson made a mid-range shot from the baseline late in the contest and it was a 60-34 final.

“It was great to get Bill in there and get him some confidence,” coach Miller said. 

Daniel finished tied for a game-high 13 points to lead the Commodores. Shively scored six points. Jackson registered five points. Thomas tallied four points.

Next up, Kenton travels to face Lima Shawnee Friday at 7:30 p.m.