Tyler Perkins opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer that gave New Franklin a 36-23 lead over Sturgeon (8-4) in the championship game of the 91st New Franklin tournament.

He closed the fourth quarter at the free-throw line with that lead down to two points. He sank both and the New Franklin Bulldogs (11-0) celebrated a 43-39 win.

Perkins had missed a pair of potential game-sealing free throws on an earlier possession, but he wanted the ball in his hands with under 10 seconds left.

“After I missed those other two free throws, I knew I could at least make one of them, that’s all we need,” Perkins said.

If the lead was three points, the plan was to foul before Sturgeon could attempt the game-tying shot. Perkins made the foul unnecessary. He finished with 14 points as the New Franklin seniors won their home tournament for the first time.

“It was good to win our tournament, it is something we always want to do year to year,” New Franklin coach Ross Dobson said.

“Tonight’s game was a battle against a tough conference opponent.  I thought we were able to give the effort and intensity for a back-to-back game night.  I am proud of the boys and want to thank all of the fans for supporting the Bulldogs.”

The New Franklin Bulldogs led 16-12 in the second quarter when Perkins hit a 3-pointer to start a 12-2 run. Gavin Bishop had a pair of buckets and Tysen Dowell scored to cap the run and give New Franklin a 28-14 lead.

Bishop finished with 19 points and Dowell had five.

New Franklin scored just three points in the fourth quarter, but allowed just four points to Sturgeon to protect the double-digit lead. Then Sturgeon closed the gap to four with nine points in a row.

“You could tell there in the third quarter we just hit a brick wall after playing back-to-back nights against two good teams,” Dobson said. “That’s one thing we learned this week, no matter what, we have to have the right mindset the whole time.”

Perkins scored eight of New Franklin’s 12 points in the fourth quarter to escape the title game with another trophy.

“It feels good,” he said. “We’ve got two tournament wins now and we just need two more.”

New Franklin 63, Fayette 41

Five players scored at least eight points for New Franklin in a 63-41 win over Fayette in the tournament semifinal.

Kyle Schleeter scored 12 of Fayette’s first 13 points as the Falcons took a 13-10 lead in the first quarter, but the Bulldog defense allowed just four more points before halftime.

Carter Bailey scored six of New Franklin’s first eight points in the second quarter as the Bulldogs took a 22-17 lead.

“I thought we did really well with our press and communicating, we really amped up our energy and getting those fast break buckets helped a lot,” Bailey said.

The Bulldogs forced 15 first-half turnovers and finished the half on a 19-4 run.

Perkins’ steal and score put New Franklin up 24-17, followed by a 3-pointer from Tre Cowans. Tysen Dowell’s bucket increased the lead to 12 before the halftime buzzer.

Perkins finished with 17 points and Bailey scored 12.

Cowans added seven more points in the second half to finish with 13.

“He came off the bench and had some big minutes while (Jackson) Dorson was in foul trouble there,” New Franklin coach Ross Dobson said about Cowans.

“That’s our routine, its next man up, working hard, and trying to make plays for each other.”

Jackson Dorson scored five points in a row to put the Bulldogs up 35-19. After a Cale Polson 3-pointer, Gavin Bishop had back-to-back buckets to push the lead to 19.

Dorson and Bishop each finished with eight points.