JOHNSTON — The excitement will be at fever pitch Monday when Perry (18-5) meets old rival Dallas Center-Grimes (19-4) in the Class 3A Substate 7 Final, as a trip to the state tournament will be on the line.
Playing at Wells Fargo Arena is nothing new for DC-G, who made appearances in 2010, ’11 and ’13. All three of those trips ended swiftly with losses in the quarterfinals, with senior Austin Rix and junior Doug Heritage the only current Mustangs to have state tourney experience.
The situation could not be more different for Perry, who won the Raccoon River Conference with a league mark of 11-3. The Bluejays will be looking for their first appearance in the state quarterfinals since 1988, when they went on to top Council Bluffs St. Albert, 76-60, for the 2A championship.
DC-G finished 9-3 in the Little Hawkeye conference and own a 67-54 win, at Perry, Dec. 9. Rix had 22 points and nine rebounds, Heritage 19 points and Trey Washington 11 in the victory, in which the Mustangs raced to a 38-23 lead at the half.
Horrific shooting undid Perry, who went 1-of-16 on first-half 3-point attempts and finished just 7-of-33 behind the arc. The Jays were led by 24 points from Shammond Ivory, but could not overcome a 39-28 rebounding deficit.
Two of DC-G’s losses this season — 64-61 and 66-60 — came at the hands of Norwalk, who Perry defeated, 89-81. The Mustangs have won eight straight and Perry five consecutive and seven of their final eight.
The 6-9 Rix averages 15.6 points and seven rebounds per game, with Heritage averaging 14.4 points and 4.2 boards and Washington 10.1 points and three caroms per outing. Washington has made 120 assists and 66 steals and, with Connor Smith (5.2 ppg) has hit 20-of-51 3-pointers.
Heritage is the deadliest shooter from outside, having drained 48-of-130 treys, while Rix’s 55 blocks creates an imposing barrier near the basket.
Ivory’s 21.3 points tops Perry, with Will Whiton scoring 12.7 and Blake Lansing 10.9 points per contest. Kyle Nevitt (8.1) and Scott James (3.9) round out the starters, with Ryan Rathje (5.3) the leading scorer off the bench.
James has 39 blocks and is averaging 6.9 rebounds per game, with Whiton snaring 5.6 caroms while Whiton and Ivory are in the top four in 3A in thefts with 87 and 69 steals, respectively.
Rathje (28-of-89 3-pointers) has provided several key sparks off the bench for Perry in their past several games, with Lansing (40-of-135 3-pointers) pouring in an average of 15 points over the past five Bluejay victories.
Perry is averaging 69.6 points and DC-G 61.7 points per game. DC-G is much more accurate (36 to 28 percent) beyond the 3-point arc and from the floor as a whole (53 to 41 percent) but has taken nearly 16 fewer shots per game. The Mustangs hold a 62 to 60 percentage edge at the foul line while having 100 fewer attempts.
Tip-time in Johnston is 7 p.m.
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Directions to the gym from Perry: Take Hwy 141 toward Des Moines. Turn left on 19th ave (second light past Wal-Mart exit). Follow directly to high school.
