Both the Perry boys and girls fell to visiting Carroll Thursday in a rescheduled Raccoon River Conference set, but the margin of victory for the Tigers was considerably less than the first meeting of the season between the two old rivals.
Carroll (10-6, 5-5) was a 54-33 winner over Perry (1-16, 0-10) in the girls game, with the Tigers (12-2, 9-1) a 73-49 victor over the Bluejays (0-15, 0-10) in the nightcap. The teams had met Nov. 30 in Carroll, with the host girls a 66-28 winner while the boys opened a 55-10 halftime lead en route to an 88-15 pasting.
Perry looked determined on defense to start the boys game and held a 9-8 lead after six minutes, only to see Carroll slip out to a 17-9 margin at the end of the first quarter.
The Bluejay offense simply could not create a steady rhythm in the second period, and while scoring 15 points in the frame witnessed the Tigers put 24 on the board to create a 41-24 deficit at the half.
Large gaps on the scoreboard have appeared, at times this season, to have sapped the energy from the Jays, but such was not the case Thursday. Perry continued to play with a strong effort, but were simply outgunned, falling into a 62-36 hole entering the final frame, a gap they were unable to overcome.
The 49 points were a season-high for Perry, the most points scored since a 69-46 loss to Greene County to open the campaign. It is only the second time in 15 games the team has scored 40 or more points.
Brendan Ivory led the way with 16 points, with Kegan West scoring 13 — most of those under the basket — while Kato Dougan used a hot early hand to finish with 10 points. Mohamed Abdelnabi added seven points, Avery Meister two and June Rey Reisberg one.
Perry had three 3-pointers while Carroll finished with 10. Both teams attempted 22 free throws, but while Carroll connected on 17, Perry made good on just 10.
Buomkuoth Lol had 15 points and Karter Lein and Nick Macke 11 each to pace the Tigers. Colby Christensen had nine points, Jacob Tunning, Tory Feldman and Kelin Jones six apiece, Slade Sibenaller five and Tyler Tunning four.
The Jayettes found themselves facing a 14-7 gap after one period of play in their game, but stayed within range in the second quarter to enter the half well within striking distance, down just 24-19.
Senior Gabby West was a big part of the reason why, scoring all nine of her points in the second period to keep Perry hopes alive.
Unfortunately, repeated turnovers and suddenly frigid shooting stifled the Jayette offense in the third quarter, with a 15-4 Carroll run pushing the score to 39-23 and all but settling the outcome.
Molly Lutmer splashed four 3-pointers to lead all scorers with 20 points. West had the aforementioned nine, with Hannah Peterson and Kennedy Tunink scoring two each for the hosts.
Kennedy Lein had 14 points and Ella Collison 10 to fuel Carroll. Ashley Onken, Hannah Jorgensen and Taylor Mohr scored seven points apiece, with Gabriella Hammer adding four points, Rachel White three and Laura Sweeney two.
Perry hosts Ballard for a “Pink Out” and “Coaches vs. Cancer” set tonight, with Boone to visit Tuesday. Perry will make up Tuesday’s cancelled games at Winterset by visiting the Huskies Thursday, with a trip to Bondurant-Farrar slated for Feb. 8.
