Perryville boys basketball coach Charles Givens Sr. recorded the 400th victory of his distinguished career as the Panthers pummeled visiting North Harford 56-31 on Senior Night Wednesday. Givens is in his 40th season as Perryville coach. He started in 1970 and did not coach for six seasons while working as an administrator at Elkton High. "It says to me I've been around long enough to have players contributing to my getting 400 wins," Givens said. "It hasn't been about me. It's always been about the Perryville High School basketball program. It's been a great ride doing this. I'm thankful for the kids who contributed to this opportunity, letting me get 400 wins. That's a lot." Perryville junior guard Nick Roberts' father and uncle also played for Givens: "He's a great coach," Nick Roberts said. "He's seen a lot of players come and go through Perryville and he's ingrained in our basketball culture forever." Chip Helm played under Givens in the early 1990s and is now Perryville High's principal. "Mr. Givens has been a coach, teacher, and mentor to the students of PHS for four decades," said Helm. "His contributions to the students and student-athletes at PHS go well beyond words. I would personally like to congratulate him on winning his 400th game and to thank him for the support that he has always shown me." Number 400 was one of Givens' least stressful games. Dominic Gugliotta and Roberts each made two three-pointers in the first quarter as Perryville built a 19-5 lead. North Harford never seriously threatened the rest of the way. The Panthers held a comfortable 25-12 lead at halftime and extended the advantage to 47-21 at the end of the third quarter. "I was happy with the offense in the first quarter," said Givens. "We got a little sloppy but we came back and did it again. They played well. I thought we got a little sloppy in the second half." Perryville seniors Tyleke Johnson, Bobby Monk, and Pernell White and their families were honored prior to the game. Johnson was pleased the Panthers bounced back from two subpar outings to win on Senior Night. "It's amazing because we have trouble in the last two games," Johnson said. "Elkton was a major trouble [Tuesday night]. It was Senior Night and that gave us more momentum. We knew if we came out to play like we usually play, we'd come out on top and defeat them. And we blew them out." Johnson scored 14 points, but most importantly, helped set the tone as the Panthers unselfishly moved the ball while building a big lead. "I was mostly moving the ball back and forth and seeing what my teammates could do," said Johnson. "We didn't have a lot of turnovers. That was good." Roberts finished with four three-pointers and a team-high 16 points and Gugliotta notched 12. Comments are closed.
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