WINTERSET– A 15-6 run late in the third quarter appeared to have Perry set up for a boys Raccoon River Conference road win over Winterset Tuesday. The host Huskies saw it otherwise, and rallied to stun the Bluejays, 61-57, thanks in no small part to a blistering outing at the free throw line.
Winterset (5-1, 4-0) sank 22-of-27 free throws in the contest, and while that was not much better than a solid 17-of-23 from Perry (2-6, 1-3) it was enough to make the difference, especially as the hosts were 17-of-19 at the stripe in the second half.
Casey Kleemeier caused trouble for the Jays throughout the game. The junior finished with 23 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals. He had three 3-pointer as part of a 13-point first half, then hit all eight of this foul shots down the stretch to keep Perry at bay.
Perry began the game by falling into a 16-9 hole after one frame and entered the intermission facing a 28-21 deficit. A 7-2 run brought the guests to within 30-28 with three minutes left in the third quarter when a 15-6 run turned the tables and gave the guests a 43-36 edge as the final stanza began.
Winterset slowly chopped into their disadvantage and went back in front, 48-47, with three minutes to play. The Huskies held a 53-50 edge with 60 seconds to play, then hit free throw after free throw to hold off a desperate Bluejay charge and dart off with the victory.
Connor Nielsen poured in 23 points and Shammond Ivory 20 for Perry, but no other Jay reached double digits. Drew Levan finished with six points and Mark Campos with four, with two points apiece from Brendan Ivory and Tanner Duffy closing the scoring list.
Perry hosts Ogden for “Pack the Gym” night Thursday. Current assistant coach Mike Long, who guided the Jayettes for 40 years, will be honored between games. The Bluejays will play a boys-only set Friday at Greene County to cap the pre-holiday portion of their schedule.
