The Perryville Pirates were a little rushed Monday during their home opener against Windsor, rushing shots and giving up a large number of turnovers in the first quarter, paving the way to a 17-6 deficit after the first quarter.
That gap proved too big to overcome, leaving the Pirates (1-4) with a 52-36 loss to the Owls (4-1) in front of a small, but spirited crowd at the Perryville Middle School gymnasium.
“I just think, early on, it took us a while for us to settle in into our style and our play and just play comfortable and confident like I know that they’re capable of,” said first-year Perryville coach Eli Sample. “By the time it kicked in, it was a quarter or so in, and we had to try to claw our way back. It was a good battle overall. I think we won the second half. There were some positives in it, but I think the start really, really hurt us just with the turnovers and us not playing our game.”
The Pirates fared little better in the second quarter, as they were outscored 15-9, leaving them down 32-15 at the half.
The Owls set a fast pace from the start, and their defense and quick hands resulted in several turnovers they were able to convert into points.
“I don’t think it was a whole lot of them doing it, necessarily,” Sample said. “I think that, for us, we kind of rushed our own selves and didn’t play our game early on. I don’t know if it was maybe just a little bit of excitement to start the game that we weren’t able to settle in and play our game, but as time went on, we finally settled in. I think throughout the rest of the game, it was pretty even.”
After the break, the game’s rapid pace continued, but the Pirates seemed far more comfortable on both offense and defense, even scoring several points on turnovers and fast breaks.
“I like to play that way,” Sample said. “If I can get the easy baskets on a fast break or get the ball before [a fast break], I like that, but I also like for us to be running half-court options and go through our motions and stuff like that.”
Senior big man Josiah Paisley, who saw heavy pressure in the paint all night, was held scoreless in the first quarter, but finished with 14 points for the Pirates, who outscored Windsor 21-20 in the second half. Senior Karston Schilli and junior Levi Pyland added 8 points each.
“ I liked our flow on offense,” Sample said. “I liked our 2-2-1 press, the intensity we brought with that, and our 2-3 defense worked pretty well. I think defensively, we’re a pretty good team. We don’t let teams score a lot of points. On the defensive side, I’ve been really proud of our group. Offensively, we’re still trying to figure out, and things are still trying to click for us.
“We’re just trying to get it all together and get these boys to where we’re clicking on all cylinders, offensively and defensively.”
Max Haegele led Windsor with a game-high 16 points, followed by junior Samuel Becker with 14 and junior Colby Blake with 12.
“I think it came a lot down to our turnovers early on and just not playing our game,” Sample said of the loss. “We were kind of shying away from what we’re good at — being aggressive, attacking the basket, and knocking down our shots. That was something that we didn’t do early on. It started clicking for us a little later on.”
