Carter Morton poured in 24 points and Trey Hinote added 21 while hitting five 3-pointers as Greene County steadily pulled away from host Perry for a 69-46 non-conference win Tuesday.
Greene County (2-0) was coming off a 96-91 win over Ogden while Perry was playing for the first time this season. The Rams snapped a seven-year losing skid to the Bluejays. Prior to Tuesday, Greene County had not topped the Perry boys since a 45-42 win on Dec. 18, 2010.
Coincidentally, new Perry head coach Aaron Lyons was a senior at East Greene at the time, playing for his father, Dean, who is now assisting with the Jays. The Hawks were 18-5 that year, the next-to-last season before the school merged with their neighbors to the west.
Mohammed Abdelnabi, a transfer from Des Moines, made his presence felt immediately for Perry, hitting two of his five triples and scoring eight quick points as the hosts raced out to an 8-2 lead.
The Rams responded with a run of their own, with a 3-pointer late in the first quarter giving the guests an 11-8 lead and putting them in front on the scoreboard, where they would remain for the duration.
Abdelnabi was on the bench with foul trouble for part of the second quarter, and, as was clear during the game, the Bluejays were a different team without him on the floor running the point. Perry struggled with turnovers and poor shooting, and by the time the next four minutes had elapsed Greene County had exploded for a 32-13 lead, with the halftime score standing at 40-21.
The 19-point deficit was as close as Perry would come until the final two minutes of the game, and then only briefly. The Rams led, 55-29, after three periods and were not threatened down the stretch.
The guests sank 10 total treys in the game and the hosts seven, with Alex Morales adding the other pair for the Jays.
The game witnessed an enormous discrepancy at the free throw line, where Greene County connected on 17-of-20 foul shots while Perry was traumatized by a 1-of-14 clip.
Lance Hughes had 11 points for the Rams, with Cael Fisher adding eight, John Rosada three and Skylar Ripperger two.
Abdelnabi finished with 23 points in his Perry debut, grabbing six rebounds and making two steals along the way.
Morales had six points, as did Kato Dougan, who had five rebounds. Keghan West tallied four points and pulled down eight boards, with Mario Cruz scoring three points, snaring four caroms, making three steals and adding two assists in his first varsity action. Baskets from Carlos Calderon and Roel Dejesus capped the Bluejay scoring.
Perry returns to action with a trip to Raccoon River Conference foe Carroll Friday, with the girls game beginning at 6 p.m. Des Moines Christian visits Perry Saturday for a non-conference twin set, with the girls game to start at 1 p.m.
