CHESTER — After suffering a tough loss in the opening round of the 62nd annual Chester Invitational Tournament on Jan. 17, the Perryville Pirates rolled through the consolation bracket. culminating with a 64-48 victory over Valmeyer, Ill., in the consolation championship, earning fifth place.
Perryville jumped out to an early lead, going up 30-20 at the half. Valmeyer closed the gap to 2, 32-30, late in the third quarter and took a 36- 35 lead with less than 1:30 remaining, and a 38-37 lead with less than 40 seconds remaining.
The Pirates were relentless, ending the third quarter with a 39-38 lead, and outscored Valmeyer 25-10 in the fourth to set the final margin.
PERRYVILLE 61, LEBANON, ILL. 29
CHESTER — After suffering a tough first-round loss, the Perryville Pirates were ready for a little payback. In their second-round consolation matchup, they got it, taking a 34-1 halftime lead on the way to a lopsided victory over the Lebanon (Ill.) Greyhounds. Senior Aiden Wendel led the Pirates with a game-high 15 points, followed by sophomore Parker Shelton and senior Cole Rodewald with 11 points each.
NEW ATHENS, ILL. 75, PERRYVILLE 46
CHESTER — New Athens took a six-point lead in the first quarter and built on that throughout the rest of the game to knock off the Perryville Pirates in the first round.
In the third quarter, New Athens outscored the Pirates by 15 points, pushing their lead to 62-34.
Ten Greyhounds put points on the board, led by sophomore Cam Steinwagner with 23 points.
For Perryville, senior Aiden Wendel finished with 15 points, and Josian Paisley had 12. Seniors Karston Schilli and Cole Rodewald had 7 each.
