Perry completed a rare season sweep of the Ballard boys with a 71-66 overtime victory Friday. The Bluejays were also five-point winners over Bombers Jan. 6 when they posted a 48-43 win in their first Raccoon River Conference meeting this season.
The game was tied at 60 when Ballard called a timeout with 20.6 seconds left in regulation. The Perry defense rose to the occasion, allowing only a hurried and off-balance shot at the horn that was well off-target, forcing four minutes of bonus basketball.
Free throw shooting played a huge role in the eventual outcome, with both teams shooting well overall. Ballard finished 14-of-19 at the foul line while Perry sank 13-of-16, but the main difference — one that proved fatal to the Bombers — was when those shots fell.
The guests drained 14-of-16 free throws in the first half but then went to the line only three times in the final two quarters and overtime, missing all three. Meanwhile, Perry received a 5-of-6 first half clip at the stripe from Rashon Ivory, but managed to knock down 8-of-10 in the final 20 minutes to pull away.
Perry junior Brandon Kenyon got himself out of his own doghouse by hitting a pair of clutch 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, then burying a third trey to give the hosts a 63-62 lead early in overtime.
Kenyon was vocal when whistled for a second quarter foul. He was warned by the referee to stop complaining, but moments later was whistled for a technical foul and found himself on coach Denny McDonnell’s bench for an extended period of time.
After his overtime trey, Perry received two free throws from Kyle Nevitt and Janier Puente to pair with a basket as the Jays moved into 69-64 lead. Ballard scored with 3.8 seconds left to come within a possession, at 69-66, after remaining alive the game when Perry missed twice at the line.
Connor Nielsen sealed the win for Perry with two points at the line in the waning seconds.
Perry (9-6, 7-4) overcame a slow start in the first three minutes of the game to grab a 17-6 lead, but Ballard scored a pair of 3-pointers to come to within 17-12 at the end of one quarter. The Bomber surge continued as a combined 24-9 run over the final 11 minutes of the first half gave the guests a 30-26 lead after they had trailed by 11 points.
Perry began scoring at a quicker clip, with Ivory and Puente scoring repeatedly to help the Bluejays erase their deficit and take a 48-45 lead into the fourth frame.
Ballard (6-11, 4-8) managed to draw even at 58-all, with Kenyon and Bomber guard Max Stoltz trading 3-pointers down the stretch, with the third second-half trey from Stoltz tying the game with two minutes to play.
The Bombers grabbed a 60-58 lead on a Trey Dummond basket before Perry tied the game with 20 seconds left and then forced overtime with a denying defense.
Five Bluejays finished with double-digit scoring, led by Ivory’s 17 points. Puente had 15 points, Nevitt 14, Nielsen 12 and Kenyon 11, with Drew Levan adding two points.
Stoltz had 23 points to lead the guests, with Drummond adding 17. Tyler Ihle had eight points, Cade Wilson six and Isaac Schafbuch five, with Chase Winterboer tallying three points and Taylor Roberts and Ethan Torkelson two apiece.
Perry hosts Ogden today at 12 p.m. in a junior varsity/varsity boys-only set with Ogden, a game rescheduled from December. The will join their Jayette classmates for co-ed twin sets against Boone Tuesday, with a visit to Bondurant-Farrar slated for Friday. Perry will host Carroll at 1 p.m. Feb. 11 in a final co-ed set; the game was originally to have been played Jan. 24.
