Perry made it a two-possession game in the fourth quarter against Harvey on Dec. 10, but the Red Raiders remained composed. Following a pass from Armani Hall to Chase Goines for a layup and a defensive stop, Deontae Ware had four rebounds in under a minute to help run out the clock for a 71-63 victo ry. Harvey improves to 1-2, while Perry falls to 0-1. The Red Raiders took the lead for the first time in the contest on a transition layup by Dom Snyder that made it 7-6. Hall hit a pair of 3-pointers with Goines hitting a layup through contact to go on a 10-1 run to end the first. The Pirates made a comeback in the second as Kaden Brewster, Chase Sivon and Traxton Richards all had layups. They also got Harvey in foul trouble early, racking up five in the first two minutes of the second quarter. Harvey coach Eric Monty didn’t panic. His team has matured, going from wide-eyed sophomores to mature multi-year starters as seniors. “We had to talk about handling adversity,” Monty said. “That has been a huge issue for us over the past couple of years. There were games where we had leads and then things like that don’t go our way. Harvey teams in the past have fallen apart in those situations. We showed a lot of growth and poise tonight. Especially late, we didn’t attempt a shot from outside 3 feet.” Harvey held a 33-26 lead going into the break and quickly added to the lead with layups from Goines, Snyder and Hall. Hall had a strong showing with 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists. He led the team in rebounds until the final minute when Ware took control of the glass. “Perry was definitely bigger than we expected,” Hall said. “Deontae got into foul trouble early in the game and guys were going to need to step up. I just happened to be one of them tonight.” But a Brewster 3-pointer helped cut into the lead as the game went to the fourth quarter with Harvey holding a 48-40 lead. Ware, Hall and Goines had buckets early in the frame as the lead returned to double figures for the Red Raiders. But then Perry found its stride. Nate Trefzger had a pair of 3-pointers, Richards and Brewster added scores from beyond the arc as well. Perry went 5 of 9 from deep in the fourth quarter. Even with the run by the Pirates, Monty said his team was ready for the challenge. “We talked about shot selection all season and knowing the difference between good shots and bad shots,” Monty said. “Not just on the floor but also with the score and the time. There were times last year we were chucking up threes and hoping. They played smart.” Hall had a transition layup off of a steal, then Hall got the defense to bite on a layup attempt and dished the ball to Goines in the paint for a score. Add in Ware’s work on the glass in the final minutes, and Harvey picked up its first win of the season after two close games to open the season. “We got a lot of looks inside and were driving and kicking,” Hall said. “I think going with the momentum, now we take a huge jump. We started the schedule pretty tough, I think we have one of the hardest schedules in Lake County. Coming into the game tonight, even with two losses, we know what it takes to play as a team and to win.” Goines finished with 16 points and six rebounds, Snyder added 14 points and Ware had seven points and nine rebounds. Perry started its season after a wait while the football team was in the playoffs. After a few practices, Coach Al Iacofano is happy with the overall progression of the team. Unlike in years past, where Perry featured strong scorers at multiple levels, the Pirates bring a lot of size to the table this season. Iacofano knows that is going to take some time to get used to. “We proved a lot in this game,” Iacofano said. “We don’t have a large sample size with these guys. We got some kids that are experienced in the program but not experienced with minutes. We were very happy with the effort and some things from off the bench. There were little spurts that showed we can be a good team.” Perry was led by Brewster with 16 points, Richards added 12, Michael Nowosielski had 10 off the bench and Trefzger had nine, all in the second half. The Pirates go for their first win against Hawken on Dec. 13. Harvey hosts Hoban on the same day. The score Harvey 71, Perry 63 ...read more read less