HUXLEY — In a back-and-forth boys basketball battle Friday it was host Ballard who did just enough down the stretch to secure a victory, as the Bombers eluded Perry, 70-67, in Raccoon River Conference play.
Perry (2-2, 1-1) won the scoring battle in the first and fourth quarters, but a slight edge over the middle 16 minutes by Ballard provided just enough margin for the Bombers to improve to 2-2 overall and 2-0 in RRC action.
The Bluejays streaked to a 21-13 lead after one quarter, but saw their margin trimmed to but a point, at 33-32, at the intermission. A 20-13 scoring spurt in the third frame pushed Ballard in front, 52-46.
Ballard extended their lead to seven points in the fourth period, but an 8-0 Perry run — which included a Ryan Rathje dunk — pushed the Jays in front by a point.
Unfortunately for the visitors, the energy used to make the run proved to high a price to pay, as the Bombers were able to slip past the Jays for the victory despite shooting only 12-of-25 at the foul line.
Max Stoltz had 16 points to lead Ballard, with Kolby Jensen adding 13 points and Haken Moody 11. Eight points apiece from Kaleb Odden and Tyler Ihle, seven from Cade Wilson, five from Kobe Schulze and two from Austin Edwards completed the Bomber scoring ledger.
Jensen snatched 10 rebounds and made three steals, with Ihle tallying eight boards and six assists.
Perry senior Shammond Ivory’s 22 points were a game-high, with Rathje providing 13 points and Kyle Nevitt 12. Conner Nielsen hit for nine points, Janier Puente for seven and Rashon Ivory four.
Nevitt cleared seven caroms, Nielsen six and both Puente and Shammond Ivory five each, with Rashon Ivory contributing five assissts and Shammond Ivory and Rathje four apiece. Rathje also had three blocks for the Jays.
Perry will host tall and talented Norwalk Tuesday before entertaining RRC rival Carroll Friday. The Bluejays will visit Ogden Saturday for a boys-only frosh/JV/varsity set beginning at 12 p.m. in what will serve as the final pre-holiday action for the Perry boys.
If you would like to have your business to be seen supporting local sports several thousand of times each week, an ad in each sports story we post will do the trick. Call 537-3992 to find out how reasonable our rates are, and how wide our reach is!
