BOONE — With first place in the Raccoon River Conference on the line, Tuesday’s one-week delayed boys cage battle between Perry and host Boone figured to be a game of emotions.
Toss into the mix that each team had posted lopsided wins against the other last season, and that Perry had thumped Boone out of the postseason, and the energy level was bound to be high.
That was exactly the case, but it was the host Toreadors who best handled the atmosphere, surviving a frantic Bluejay surge in the third quarter to pull away in the final eight minutes for a 57-42 win that pushed Boone (7-5, 5-2) to the top of the RRC standings while Perry fell to 5-5 and 4-3 in suffering their first loss after five consecutive wins.
Boone grabbed a 13-10 lead after the first period then attempted to put the game away early with an 18-6 spurt in the second quarter that gave the hosts a 31-16 halftime lead.
Perry countered with a 20-8 third quarter to close to within 39-36 thanks to the inside play of Janier Puente and key baskets from Connor Nielsen and Kyle Nevitt.
The Jays had taken advantage of Boone’s 6-5 Gabe Krafcisin sitting for most of the third quarter, but his return for the fourth proved fatal. Krafcisin scored 10 of his 12 points in the period and Perry was held scoreless from five critical minutes as a second 18-6 Boone quarter led to the 15-point win.
Perry struggled offensively with Rashon Ivory on the bench for fouls in the first half and again when the junior picked up his fifth infraction in the second half.
Tanner Schminke led the hosts with 14 points, with Ethan Lewis and John Herrick scoring eight points apiece. Lane Losh added six points, Dresden Wilson four, Trevor Vanpelt three and Justin Aspergren two.
Nevitt’s 14 points was a team-high for Perry, with Nielsen tallying 11 points while Puente was held to a season-low eight points. Ivory had five points, Drew Levan three and Brandon Kenyon one to cap the Perry scoring.
Perry will host Carlisle Friday and Carroll Tuesday before visiting ADM Jan. 27.
