Perry High boys basketball has not been in a state playoff
game since 2008. If sophomore guard K.J. Smith keeps putting up these kinds of
numbers, that streak may be coming to an end.
With 25 points from Smith, the Panthers of coach Brett Hardy
held off the West Laurens High Raiders Friday 70-59 to improve to 5-3 in Region
2-AAAA. Smith was instrumental in a Perry run of seven straight points late in
the second quarter that enabled the hosts to go ahead by 10 at halftime.
Despite the efforts of off guard Garrel Quainton and his 24
points – plus 6-6 Justin Smith asserting himself under the basket in the
second half – the Raiders from Dexter never went ahead from the second quarter
to the conclusion.
Nobody else on Perry’s team scored in double figures, but
those coming close were reserve forward Jamal Bagley and his nine points and
point guard Kevin Ford and his seven points. Marquez Thomas and Larry Felder,
as they have all season, brought a new pace to the game off the bench. They
split 12 points between them.
Ford, not known for point production, took on West Laurens’
center in the first quarter with success. On a sideline break, the basketball
went from Smith to Thomas to Jamarkus Davis, and that capped off a little 6-0 run.
Justin Smith, however, ended it slamming in an offensive rebound.
Bagley worked hard to get his own offensive board, and
Thomas put the ball back in his hands for two. Thomas later threw in a pretty
reverse lay-in, and Derrick Toliver scored from a hook shot in the lane. West
Laurens was able to run with the Panthers, whose lead after the first quarter
was two, 16-14.
Perry didn’t have any outside game for the first eight
minutes while taking on the West Laurens half-court zone. Smith scored the
first 3-pointer early in the second. The Panthers never trailed, but had leads
go from six to one to six and back to one as the Raiders found timely 3-point
shooting.
A key moment, though, came at the 3:50 mark when the
visiting bench earned a technical foul while down 25-24. With the free throws
made by K.J. Smith, Perry began the 7-0 run. Smith connected on a 3-pointer
from a corner at 3:08 and later ran the fast break to assist Mark Riley’s only
two points of the evening.
The Panthers were up 32-25 when Jalen Walker stole an
inbound pass in the final minute. He missed his dunk try, but his teammates
recovered the basketball, and Bagley converted a three-point play. Bagley did a
lot more work in these last seconds to get the basketball away from the
Raiders, but he couldn’t add to the lead.
At the half, it was 35-25. Walker had his own three-point
play early in the third quarter as Davis passed it to him from the baseline.
When the Raiders had it down to seven, 38-31, from
second-chance points, Perry used four chances to get the two back plus one
more. Smith, who took the first shot, made the fourth plus his free throw for
41-31.
Quainton had two of West Laurens’ four 3-pointers of the
third quarter. The Raiders drew as close as six, but Smith sank a 3 after he
stole the basketball while running side by side with West Laurens’ dribbler in
transition.
With the lead down to four, 46-42, Bagley found Deonte
Soloman open underneath. Ford matched one of Quainton’s treys, and Felder
scored five late in the period. His 3-pointer at the four-second mark had it
back to a 10-point game, 58-48.
Justin Smith blocked two shots in the fourth and scored
consecutive put-backs. But K.J. Smith had four points plus an assist to Bagley.
Thomas also put in two late and stole an inbound pass. The Raiders did not
score from outside the arc in the final eight minutes.
Still looking for the season’s first region win, the Perry
High Lady Panthers went from trailing at the half by 15 to being two points
down to West Laurens Friday at home. But by failing to score in the last eight
possessions, Perry fell by nine 55-46.
The Lady Panthers had a chance to tie the game with 3:10
remaining in regulation but missed. They would miss three other shots and have
two trips without an attempt.
Aaliyah Cheatham had 22 points and Yoshi Shennett, a
freshman, had 12.
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