Long scoreless stretches punctuated repeated turnovers plagued both Perry basketball teams Friday, allowing visiting Ballard to claim a pair of comfortable wins in Raccoon River Conference action.
Ballard (17-2, 11-1), ranked 11th in Class 4A, never allowed more than six points in any quarter in posting a 52-19 win in the girls game, with the Bombers (11-7, 7-5) dominating all but the first frame in recording a 70-36 win in the boys meeting.
The games were celebrated as “Coaches vs. Cancer” night, with coaches wearing sneakers as part of a nationwide campaign to help draw awareness to the fight against the disease. Fundraising for Relay For Life was held, and pink worn by many to honor the ongoing struggle to eradicate cancer.
A special recognition was held between games as the Perry Community School District honored referee Bernie Rangel, who suffered an on-court heart attack while officiating the Ballard at Perry middle school boys games Jan. 17. Rangel was present Friday, as were numerous fans and others who rushed to his aid. All received sustained standing ovations from the crowd.
The Bluejays (0-16, 0-11) nearly doubled their output from a 64-19 loss Jan. 4 but were unable to limit the Bomber attack.
Perry started well, and trailed only 15-14 six minutes into the game, but Ballard launched a 16-1 run over the next six minutes to grab a 31-15 lead midway through the second quarter en route to a 39-20 halftime lead.
The guests salted away the win with a 22-9 bulge in the third period as the deficit facing the hosts swelled to 61-29. At one point Perry was averaging three or more turnovers per attempted shot, and the vast majority of those were off-balance or under pressure and did not fall through the hoop.
Brendan Ivory led Perry with 18 points, with Keghan West scoring six points and Mario Cruz five. Kato Dougan tallied four points and June Rey Riesberg three for the Jays, who did sink 11-of-16 free throws for their best outing of the season at the line.
Connor Drew had 20 points and Max Olsan 19 for Ballard. Isaiah Deason contributed nine points, Mason Murphy seven and Kate Krogh six, With Seth Wohlgemuth, Kade Miller and Drake Wunder scoring three points apiece.
The Jayettes (1-17, 0-11) found themselves facing a 12-6 gap after one frame, but then managed only a Molly Lutmer 3-pointer while committing an unofficial 11 turnovers in the second quarter alone as the Bomber press created easy scoring opportunities and led to a 24-9 halftime advantage.
Perry continued to throw the ball away in the second half, scoring just five points in each of the final two quarters while Ballard scored 14 in each to seal the win.
Lutmer’s 12 points topped Perry, with Gabby West scoring five points and Quinn Whiton two.
Freshman point guard Brooke Loewe had 16 points to pace Ballard. Joselyn Fleischmann had eight points, Meg Rietz seven and Maggie Larson six, Molly Ihle five, Cassidy Thompson four and Grace Hill, Rachel Wohlgemuth and Karlee Ahrehnoltz two.
Perry hosts Boone Tuesday, travels to Winterset Thursday and will then visit Bondurant-Farrar Friday.
