Jaden Moody topped his season average by 21 points by torching host Perry for 38 points on 13-of-18 shooting as Ballard secured a season sweep with an 80-70 win boys Raccoon River Conference basketball Tuesday.
Moody was held to 11 points and Kaleb Odden, who added 18, to only eight in Ballard’s 70-67 win Dec. 11. While Perry cut the output of Kolby Jensen from 13 points to five and Max Stoltz from 16 points to four, a horrible outing at the foul line and foul trouble that saw two starters hit the bench combined to undo any hopes of a Bluejay victory.
Perry started with a hot hand, surging to a 15-5 lead in the early moments on a run fueled by six quick points from Shammond Ivory and a thunderous two-handed dunk from Kyle Nevitt, who sailed down the lane and hammered home two points.
However, Ballard was nonplussed, and fought back to close to within 23-17 after eight minutes. A pair of Ivory free throws — which lifted Perry’s all-time leading scorer over the 1,500 career point plateau — gave the Jays a 35-27 lead midway through the second quarter.
Moody then caught fire, sinking two 3-pointers and two foul shots to end the first half with 20 points as Ballard surged to within 43-42 at the break.
Ballard (7-7, 7-2) grabbed a 58-55 lead as the third quarter came to an end, then received a pair of wide-open treys in the corner from Odden for a 64-55 lead. Odden had five 3-pointers in the game, all fired from deep along the baseline, a spot where the Jays have proven vulnerable in several games.
Ivory scored to bring Perry within seven, at 64-57, the closest the hosts would come over the final seven minutes. Ryan Rathje and Rashon Ivory both fouled out in short order, with Shammond Ivory leaving with the score at 72-62 after landing awkwardly while being fouled on a jumper.
Nevitt scored five points down the stretch, but it was not nearly enough to offset Moody, who hit 4-of-6 three-point shots and 9-of-12 inside the arc while draining 8-of-12 at the foul line.
Ballard hit 23-of-33 (70 percent) as a team at the line, but Perry was able to convert on only 12-of-29 (41 percent). Had the Jays also shot at a 70 percent clip, the margin would only have been two points, possibly calling into doubt the outcome.
Perry post Janier Puente had an impressive power performance in the paint that may have gone unnoticed by many thanks to Moody’s output, as the junior had 18 points for the Bluejays while pulling down 17 rebounds and altering any number of Ballard shots from close to the basket.
Shammond Ivory led Perry with 22 points and three assists, with Nevitt adding 15 points and three assists. Alex Long tallied eight points and three assists, with Solomon Pierce scoring three points. Rashon Ivory had two points, five rebounds and four assists, with Rathje adding a basket.
Perry takes to the road Friday to face Carroll and again Tuesday for a rematch with ADM before returning home Feb. 5 when they will entertain Winterset.
When the team doesn’t want to play defense, this is what happens. Our guards reach and don’t move their feet. Our bigs don’t want to take a charge and are always jumping to block shots. I’ve coached all of these kids, and they are better than what they are showing. Let’s turn this around and play as a team!