Perryville falters in the fourth in loss to New Athens

If there has been one thing that Perryville basketball coach Justin Dreyer has harped on this season with his young team, it has been the ability to play a complete game.
Perryville faltered late in the fourth quarter as the Pirates fell to New Athens 60-57 in the opening game of the Battle of the Border Shootout Saturday at the Perry Park Center.
“We need to play a complete game,” Dreyer said. “We have to get out on shooters, not let up offensive rebounds, and not turn the ball over.”
Perryville went into the fourth quarter with a 40-38 lead and fought back from a four-point deficit midway through the fourth quarter to tie the game at 48 apiece and again at 51 with 2:50 left in the game.
From there, however, the Pirates could not put the ball in the basketball for a stretch which allowed New Athens to pull ahead. New Athens hit enough three throws at the end to seal the game, despite Perryville having a halfcourt shot to tie.

Jake Cissell led the way with 21 points, including threee three-pointers, while Karston Schilli added 13 points. Waylon Huber chipped in eight points, all in the second half.
“We just have to keep working in games and in practice to get better,” Dreyer said. “The good thing is that we are not making the same mistakes now that we were before. However, we need to play a full 32 minutes.”
It looked like the Pirates would pull away after taking the lead in the second quarter.
Perryville stretched their halftime lead to 33-24 miday through the third quarter, but New Athens made adjustments after a timeout and ended the quarter on a 12-5 run after they hit four threes in succession.
“They had some guys that shot the ball really well today from them,” Dreyer said. “When that is happeneing we have to get out on them.”