A pair of small runs in the third quarter from visiting Carlisle proved fatal for Perry Friday, as the Wildcats pulled away from a four-point deficit to eventually claim a 61-53 win in their Raccoon River Conference meeting.
Perry (1-4, 0-2) held small leads several times, particularly in the first half, with Carlisle (2-1, 2-0) lucky to be even, at 21-all, at the halftime break.
The Bluejays had the quick edge out of the locker room and seized a 25-21 edge, but the Wildcats launched a 14-4 run to seize a 35-29 advantage midway through the third period. Another small spurt opened a 10-point lead, but Perry battled back to trail only 44-40 entering the fourth quarter.
Perry found themselves unable to completely close their gap and take the lead thanks in part to a woeful effort at the free throw line and a large disparity in attempts in the second half. The Jays were 2-of-5 at the line after the break after hitting only 2-of-8 before the intermission. In contrast, the Wildcats converted 15-of-25 in the game, with an unspectacular 9-of-17 after the break enough to account for a seven-point edge.
The hosts were within three points with two minutes to play, down 52-49, but could not take the final step and dropped their fourth consecutive outing.
Connor Nielsen led all scorers with 20 points for Perry, with Drew Levan and Rashon Ivory adding 10 points apiece. Seven points from Brendan Ivory and six from Brandon Kenyon accounted for the Bluejay offense.
Carlisle was led by 18 points from Collin Lister, 16 from Cole Henderson and 12 from Tommy Donovan.
Perry returns to action with a non-conference bout against visiting Norwalk Tuesday before rejoining the RRC fray Friday with a trip to ADM.
