WINTHROP —The momentum in the Class C South boys basketball championship hung in the balance with a little more than three minutes left.

Winthrop and Waynflete were deadlocked at 28-28 for seemingly an eternity. As the clock ticked down, it seemed more and more apparent that the team that made the next play would punch its ticket to the state championship game.

It was Gavin Perkins’ moment.

“Someone’s got to step up and make the shot or get the steal and get the momentum going back to our side,” Perkins said. “That steal, we were getting slowed down, and we wanted to get as many transition buckets and make them run as much as we can. I saw it coming and I just went for it.”

Winthrop’s junior point guard took his steal the other way for a layup that put the Ramblers in front to stay en route to a 39-30 win and a return to the Class C state championship game (8:45 p.m. Saturday, Augusta Civic Center) against Class C North champion Dexter.

Winthrop coach Todd MacArthur wasn’t surprised Perkins seized the moment, and not just because he led the Mountain Valley Conference in steals (3.5 per game).

“He’s a high-energy guy and he usually makes big plays,” MacArthur said. “The momentum swings when he makes those plays. That steal against Waynflete, I think that was the moment I said, ‘We’ve got this.'”

Seven months earlier, it was, “You’ve got this,” as in MacArthur telling Perkins to take charge of the Ramblers’ offense.

“During summer ball, I said, ‘The keys to the car are yours,'” MacArthur said.

Perkins, a reserve on last year’s state title team, was one of four new starters for this year’s team. As MacArthur admits, himself, none of the other three faced as much scrutiny from their coach.

“I expect a lot of my point guard,” MacArthur said. “They receive probably the most criticism from a coach. I’m probably the toughest on a point guard, so I’m always in his grill about how I want things done. But he’s playing confident now and he’s starting to reach the potential of what I think he can become as a player.”

Perkins knew it was a major promotion, and knew what it entailed.

“It is a lot of pressure, all the little pieces you have to know,” Perkins said.

Even though the Ramblers had five seniors to assume leadership roles, Perkins knew his role had more to do with position than seniority. And he knew that the Ramblers had a steep learning curve because there was a lot of turnover on their roster.

“Last year was a lot different, having a lot more older kids two grades above you,” he said. “Then coming into this year, I had to be more in charge on the floor and be able to tell people what they’re doing in different spots and make sure I know what’s going on.”

“He does a great job of understanding what we need each set, whether it be a post touch or getting that 3-pointer,” MacArthur said. “He’s very unselfish. He’s the motor to our engine.”

MacArthur saw his new point guard as more than just an unselfish floor general, though. The 6-foot Perkins had the skills to not only create for others but to create for himself, as well as become a force at the defensive end.

“He’s dynamic when he has the ball in his hands,” MacArthur said. “And when he’s shooting well, it makes him even more potent.”

“He can incorporate others and he can create for himself,” he added. “And he’s dynamic defensively with the times he can jump the passing lane and finish at the other end. That’s probably the aspect that I love the most, that he’s a complete point guard.”

Another thing MacArthur loves is that Perkins knows the value of defense and the relationship between both ends of the floor.

“Our program is built around the defensive part of the game. We’ve been learning since, I don’t know, Y ball, and just working hard,” said Perkins, who averaged 12 point and five assists per game this year. “Getting stops on defense helps the transition to offense.”

Few are better at getting stops and translating them into quick offense than Perkins, as he’s always eager to demonstrate. But his aggressiveness used to lead to foul trouble.

Stealing the ball in basketball is a bit like stealing a base in baseball. Many coaches will give their players a green light to make the steal, but they better be sure they’ll get it.

Perkins said he has learned to recognize the fine line between taking the ball and making illegal contact with the opposition.

“You’ve just got to know when you can go for it, when you are going to get it and not miss it and foul a kid,” Perkins said.

MacArthur admitted having some reservations about handing the keys to Perkins during the summer. Last year, like many sophomores, he often got caught up in the emotions of the game. Any mistake he made could knock him off his game mentally.

That’s the last thing any coach, but especially MacArthur, wants from their point guard. But Perkins has proven to be one of the steadiest and headiest Ramblers over the course of the season.

“One of the biggest things is his maturity. It’s been a huge thing with him this year,” MacArthur said. “This year, he’s grown up and he’s taken much more responsibility, knowing it’s his job to keep his head straight because this team needs him.”

“Within the past few years, my mental game wasn’t as strong as it is this year,” Perkins said. “This year I’ve been working on it a lot more to be able to get back up when you get knocked down and (dealing with) mistakes. You’ve just got to move on and get to the next play.”

If that next play is a momentum-changer, chances are Perkins is the one to make it.

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