Clutch Audige lifts Hill School over Perkiomen School

POTTSTOWN >> It doesn’t take much for Chase Audige to get on his game.

On that note, it takes a heck of a lot to get the Hill School junior guard off of it.

Audige caught fire during the second half of Hill School’s 47-43 win over Perkiomen School on Wednesday afternoon at Gillison Court. He scored eight of his team-high 13 points during the fourth quarter including a clutch pair of trips to the free throw line to seal it late.

“We had a tough start,” said Audige, who drilled a smooth step-back 3-pointer during the third quarter. “We were stagnant on offense early — the ball stopped moving and we let their switching on defense really effect us.

“I got the ball in my hands more during the second half and saw some places where I could make some plays and score.”

With the win, Hill (4-2 Mid-Atlantic Prep League) improves to 16-5 overall, the Blues having now won four of their past five. Perk School (4-1 Tri-County League) falls to 8-6 as the Panthers’ 10-game winning streak dating back to mid-December comes to a finish.

Fresh off a weekend loss against Blair Academy, the Blues got off to a slow shooting start before finding some rhythm during the second half. For the game, The Hill shot 2-for-16 from beyond the 3-point arc.

“Our ball movement and our shot selection were pretty good, definitely better than they were against Blair,” Hill coach Seth Eilberg said. “We probably forced a couple shots, but for the most part, we were doing a lot of good things. Just couldn’t get them to fall early on.”

Junior guard DaQuan ‘Q’ Morris was about the only one who could get anything going for The Hill during the second quarter. He scored nine of his 11 points in the quarter, which included a buzzer-beating 3-pointer before both teams broke for the locker rooms. Ethan Norton followed with eight points while 7-1 senior center Solomon Ruddell had four points and 11 rebounds.

DaQuan Morris at the buzzer! Perk leads 24-19 at the half. pic.twitter.com/sdaNrW2cDT

— Thomas Nash (@Thomas_Nash10) January 25, 2017

Early on, Perk was able to match The Hill equally in athleticism, size and intensity.

As the game wore on, though, the Panthers wore out.

Junior forward Nick Guadarrama led the way with a game-high 19 points and five boards while sophomore Chandler Brooks followed with 10 — eight during the second quarter.

“We got fatigued,” said first-year Perk School head coach Thomas Baudinet. “We’re definitely not used to playing against that level and we don’t quite have the depth that matches up with those guys. Once the minds went, our legs went. We weren’t able to get into our defensive sets and run it with any type of pace.”

That fatigue was on display late. With a shade over 30 seconds left and Hill clinging onto the ball and a two-point lead, Baudinet called for his players to intentionally foul Morris at the top of the key. Instead, Morris shook his outstretched defender and drove it into the paint for a hard finish at the basket to extend the lead before Audige later sealed it at the line.

“I saw an opening in the defense and just drove it in,” Morris said of his late basket.

Audige then took all the tension out of the building late, icing the game with consecutive trips to the free throw line with under 30 seconds remaining.

“We know we can trust Chase in that spot,” said Eilberg. “He came up huge and closed it out for us.”

Half A Century

Tuesday was just the second time all season — and the second game in a row — that The Hill has been held under 50 points.

That doesn’t sit well with Eilberg as the Blues eye up Friday’s game against Kiski.

“We’re in a little bit of a rut right now,” he said. “You get into spurts where you can’t hit shots and you can’t finish. We’ve got to find ways to play through this and get our offense cranked back up.”

Inside and Out

Guadarrama, a Connecticut native now in his first year at Perk, was an All-Area Honorable Mention quarterback this past fall. In addition to football and basketball, he also plans to pitch and man shortstop for the Panthers’ baseball team this upcoming spring.

“Nick’s a great athlete,” said Baudinet. “He’s tough, he plays hard and he really stepped up for us tonight. I think he’s got a really high ceiling wherever he ends up putting his focus.”