Boone squandered a seven-point lead midway through the fourth quarter, then scored on a traditional three-point play with just over 30 seconds remaining to claim a 54-51 win over Perry Tuesday.
The Toreadors (5-6 overall, 2-4 in Raccoon River Conference play) and Bluejays (4-8, 2-4) were tied at 51-all when Boone’s Tyler Casotti narrowly avoided a five-second call by firing a pass to Trevor Van Pelt as he cut across the lane. Van Pelt hit a tough shot and drew a foul, also making the free throw for a 54-51 lead.
Perry was unable to find anything other than one difficult look at the basket as time wound down, giving the guests the victory.
The hosts led, 12-6, after one frame and managed to hang on to a 22-20 lead at the intermission. The two-point margin remained in place after three periods, with Perry holding a 38-36 edge.
Neither team had been able to pull away from the other until the Toreadors slipped out to leads of 45-39 and 48-41 midway through the final frame. Brandon Rouse hit his only basket of the game — a 3-pointer — to spark a Ram run, with Derek Rhinehart vexing Perry by scoring 15 of his 16 points after the break, with four second-half 3-pointers.
Van Pelt had 13 points and Jonathan Herrick 11, with Casey Hutchings and Casotti each scoring four points for Boone. Rouse had three points, Quali Sporaa two and Alexander Sturtz one.
The Rams hit five treys in the game and was 9-of-14 at the foul line, with Perry landing only one 3-point shot while hitting 18-of-29 at the stripe.
Rashon Ivory led all scorers with 18 points for Perry, with Connor Nielsen adding 12 points and Mark Campos 10. Seven points from Tanner Duffy, three from Drew Levan and one from Brendan Ivory capped the Bluejay scoring.
The Bluejays and Jayettes visit Bondurant-Farrar Friday and Carlisle Jan. 19, with the Bluejay varsity facing Cedar Rapids Xavier Saturday at 5:15 at the U.S. Cellular Center in the WFA Tourney.
