There are a few teams in the area that annually are in a position in which the success of the football team can lead to a slow start to the basketball season, with several key players playing both sports. Perry is one of those teams, with four out of its five basketball starters this season playin g major roles on the football team, which advanced to the third round of the playoffs. The Pirates started 0-3 with the football players working on getting into basketball shape. But they took a big step in getting things on track with a 60-59 overtime thriller over visiting CVC Chagrin Division rival West Geauga on Dec. 20. The teams entered overtime locked at 52-52 after Perry erased a seven-point halftime deficit. They were tied at 55-55 with 2:27 left in the extra period, but West G senior Tyler Fink split a pair at the line, and senior Mason Pesho hit a layup to give the Wolverines a 58-55 lead. Perry (1-3, 1-2 CVC Chagrin) didn’t battle so hard to force overtime only to let the game slip away, and junior Nate Trefzger buried a 3 with 1:30 left to tie the game again. Pesho again split a pair of free throws to put the Wolverines back in front, 59-58. Time ticked away on Perry’s ensuing possession, as the Pirates passed the ball around, looking for an opening. Junior Kaden Brewster found it. Taking a pass from Trefzger, Brewster drove to the hoop, jumped, and laid it in off the backboard to put the Pirates in front by one with 6 seconds left in overtime. A turnover by West Geauga brought an end to the proceedings, and the Pirates celebrated a hard-fought and much-needed victory. “This team has to hang its hat on the defensive end,” Perry coach Al Iacofano said. “Whether we’re in the flow offensively or not, we’ve got to defend. I thought the guys got a lot of key stops there, even when we weren’t scoring for stretches in the second half. “It allowed us to get on a run, and we closed the gap and then put ourselves up a couple possessions there.” @Perry_Pirates Coach Al Iacofano breaks down Perry’s 60-59 overtime win over West Geauga pic.twitter.com/8fUvlgPDJu — Jay Kron (@TownCenter2) December 21, 2025 West Geauga (3-3, 2-1 CVC Chagrin) can only ruminate on what caused a game that they led for the majority of regulation to get away. “Perry deserves the credit,” West Geauga coach Micah Young said. “I think they played a lot harder than us in the final couple minutes. We didn’t do a great job of handling pressure. We blew our five-point lead to let it get to overtime, and Perry made a few more plays down the stretch than we did.” West G held leads of 16-11 after the first quarter, and 30-23 at halftime. The Wolverines’ only deficit in the first half was on a 3 by Perry junior Chase Sivon to start the game, and Pesho quickly answered with a triple to tie it. The Wolverines’ defense forced Perry to take a lot of outside shots in the first half, and the Pirates weren’t very successful, connecting on just 5 of 21 outside the arc. West G also held a 19-10 rebounding edge in the first two frames. Wolverines junior Cooper Paskowski scored 10 of his game-high 19 points before the break. “They were giving us perimeter looks, and clogging up our driving lanes, and sagging off a bit,” Iacofano said of the first half. “It was a nice to see a couple drop from 3 in the second half. Traxton (Richards) hit a couple big ones, Carter (Hopkins) hit a couple big ones, and Nate (Trefzger) hit a couple big ones in the second half.” Perry came out of halftime with a renewed focus on trying to pressure the Wolverines into mistakes. West Geauga appeared to handle it well, at first, and led, 36-28, after a 3-ball by Paskowski, who connected on five in the game. But gradually, intense pressure by Perry, who attacked the ball on dribbles and got into passing lanes, began to wear on the visitors. A triple by Richards capped an 8-0 run to tie the game at 36-36. That 8-0 run became a 13-2 run and 41-38 Perry lead after a 3 by Sivon and layup by Richards, but Fink scored just before the end of the third quarter to tie it at 42-42. West Geauga held a 49-44 lead when Paskowski scored off an assist by Pesho, but Perry methodically chipped away. The Wolverines were up, 52-50, with 17 seconds left, but Hopkins drove the lane and hit a layup with six seconds left, almost mirroring Brewster’s game-winner later in overtime. Besides Paskowski’s 19 points, Pesho scored 15 for West Geauga, and added 10 rebounds for a double-double. All eight Wolverines who saw the floor scored, and they held a 33-22 edge in rebounds. But 15 turnovers, with 10 happening after halftime, ultimately helped doom the Wolverines. “Clearly, we have to work on handling pressure more in practice, and getting better,” Young said. “Definitely a tough way to lose, and we have some things to work on.” @WestGBoysBBall Coach Micah Young talks about the Wolverines’ 60-59 overtime loss at Perry pic.twitter.com/581Ek7iRDF — Jay Kron (@TownCenter2) December 21, 2025 Trefzger scored 13 points to lead four players in double figures for Perry, with Hopkins adding 12, and Sivon and Brewster 11 each. All four are juniors, and Richards is a sophomore. “Even in the losses, we saw improvements each game defensively,” Iacofano said. “We got on the wrong side (of the scoreboard) for three games, but we kept getting better, and I think tonight was our best defensive effort. It’s a good little confidence-builder for these guys, they needed that.” Both teams are back in action on Dec. 23. Perry will host Lake Catholic in an afternoon game, and West Geauga will host Kirtland in the evening. The score Perry 60, West Geauga 59 (OT) ...read more read less