ARMSTRONG — Ron Ragle expects plenty from senior point guard Parker Perrero. The Fisher boys basketball head coach wants Perrero to direct the Bunnies' offense at all times, handle the ball while under duress and find his niche every game.

Perrero put forth a gutty effort in Tuesday night's 54-42 win against fourth-seeded Armstrong-Potomac at Robert L. Bezely Gymnasium in the Class 1A Armstrong-Potomac Regional semifinal to send the top-seeded Bunnies into Friday's regional championship. Fisher (14-14) will face either No. 2 Judah Christian or No. 3 Urbana University High at 7:30 and vie for the program's second straight regional title.

They wouldn't be in this position if it weren't for the play of Perrero. He finished with 10 points, seven steals and four assists to guide the Bunnies to their first win since Jan. 6. The victory snapped a 10-game losing streak.

"We distributed the ball much better when we spread them out," said Taw Fredrickson, Fisher's senior forward who led all scorers with 20 points while grabbing seven rebounds. "When they started doubling, we still did good."

Perrero had all four of his assists in the third quarter as Fisher separated itself from the Trojans (12-17). A-P led 13-4 with 3:35 left in the first quarter off an offensive rebound putback by senior guard Lewis Irvin (seven points), and the Trojans carried an 18-12 lead into the second quarter.

But Fisher went into halftime ahead 26-21 as the Trojans were 1-of-11 from the field in the quarter, and then Perrero went to work. With the floor spread in a 1-4 isolation look, Perrero repeatedly penetrated A-P's defense, and dished off to his open teammates. Senior guard Boyd Estes, senior forward Dylan Chapman and Fredrickson all hit 3-pointers to pad Fisher's lead to 43-30 with 2:35 left.

Perrero did all this while dealing with a cut on his left elbow that opened up after he took a hard fall going up for a rebound in the second quarter. The cut opened up a hole about the size of a nickel that Perrero still had trouble stopping the blood after the game, and Perrero said he'd likely need stitches before Friday night's game.

"All game I could beat my man off the dribble, so once coach said go (iso), I just knew it was my time to step up and go make plays," Perrero said. "Once Boyd made that corner three, I just knew it was going be a good game."

It was the second straight strong game by Perrero after he dropped 21 points in Fisher's 65-58 loss on Friday night against Fieldcrest. Ragle will certainly want more of the same from Perrero on Friday night. A win would send the Bunnies into a sectional semifinal appearance on Wednesday, Feb. 29, at Danville Schlarman.

"Parker's leading us right now," Ragle said. "He's doing what the point guard's supposed to do. He's really grown up this season. I have basically rode him hard to be a good point guard (since seventh grade), and all that's paid off. I think he'd say the same thing. He carried us tonight."

Senior forward DJ Davis led A-P with nine points while senior forward Brandon Sparks added seven points and five rebounds. Senior guard Shay Fitzsimmons had a strong all-around game with six points, eight rebounds and four assists in his final prep game.

"I'm very proud of our kids," A-P head coach Brian Russell said. "They could have rolled over and quit, but that's not who our kids are. That's a testament to the seniors. That's a testament to the parents. That's a testament to us as a collective group. They kept fighting."

For more coverage of this game, please see the Feb. 29 edition of the Rantoul Press.