Monday night Semifinal action saw Lilburn, Georgia’s Berkmar (9-3) put on a dominant performance against Kentucky’s top ranked Purples of Bowling Green (7-1). The two teams opened the game in a battle with five lead changes in the opening two minutes of play. It was a pair of Zach Cooks three-pointers that put Berkmar in control 11-6 midway through the quarter. The Purples fought their way back with an 8-2 run to take the lead 14-13 on a pair of Kyran Jones free throws. The teams exchanged the lead three more times before the end of the quarter with Jay Estime’s three-pointer giving Berkmar the 22-19 lead at the quarter break. The Patriots opened the second quarter with a pair of three-pointers and a dunk extending their lead to eight points. Berkmar then pieced together a 13-5 run to take a commanding 40-28 lead with three minutes to play in the half. A pair of short runs by Bowling Green got the Purples as close as nine points before Berkmar took a 51-39 lead to the break.
Berkmar continued to roll in the second half of action opening with an 11-4 run to push their lead to 62-42 three minutes into the third quarter. The Purples cut the lead to 17 points in the final minute of the quarter but never got any closer. The Berkmar defense held Bowling to just 21.7% shooting during the second half as their lead grew to as many as 22 points. Trey Jones closed the game on a 4-0 run for Bowling Green to cut the final margin to 83-66. Berkmar advances to the King of the Bluegrass final for the first time in school history.
