Senior guard Shammond Ivory returned to the Perry lineup Friday after missing Tuesday’s season-opener with an illness.
Visiting Carlisle probably wished Ivory had missed one more game, as the all-stater lit up the Wildcat defense for 35 points to lead Perry (2-0, 1-0) to a 77-57 win in the Raccoon River Conference opener for both teams.
Ivory sank 5-of-9 attempts behind the 3-point arc, landed 9-of-14 inside the perimeter and added a pair of foul shots to account for his output.
Max Evans and Jacob Howat did their part for Carlisle by scoring 26 and 15 points, respectively, but Perry’s depth of talent, both in the starting lineup and on the bench, proved too much to overcome.
Never seriously threatened, Perry led by seven points after one frame (18-11) before growing the margin to 18 points at the intermission (42-24).
Both teams spent plenty of time at the foul line in the contest, with Carlisle shooting 36 times and converting 19 as an aggressive Perry defense resulted in a plethora of whistles. The Jays fired 21 freebies, but connected on just nine.
The differential was not nearly enough to alter the eventual outcome, as Perry led by 23 points, at 63-40, after three quarters. Bluejay head coach Ned Menke began to empty his bench for the final eight minutes, with all players seeing time on the floor.
Kyle Nevitt added 17 points for the hosts, with Janier Puente adding eight points and Rashon Ivory six. Five points from Ryan Rathje, four from Conner Nielsen and two from J.R. McCord completed the Perry scoring list.
Rathje pulled in seven rebounds, with Nielsen, Puente and Rashon Ivory grabbing six boards apiece. Nielsen had three steals and Rashon Ivory two, with the Ivory brothers accounting for nine assists — six from Rashon and three from Shammond.
Thomas Donovan provided six points for Carlisle, with Collin Lister scoring four points and Cole Henderson and Noah Schmitt three apiece.
The Bluejays will join their Jayette counterparts for a pair of road twin sets next week. First up is a Tuesday rematch with bitter rival DC-G, who stopped Perry, 73-70, in overtime in the regional finals last season. Perry will then visit Ballard next Friday.
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