The Perryville Pirates seemed to be in a bit of a rush on Jan. 7 as they squared off with DeSoto — at least on offense.
The Pirates (3-4), playing at a breakneck pace, managed just 45 points against the Dragons (3-9), but managed to keep the pressure on DeSoto, holding the visitors to 33 points on the way to their second consecutive victory.
“We’ve been doing a really good job defensively,” said first-year Perryville coach Eli Sample. “We’re just struggling to finish around the basket right now and on our threes, which is gonna come as time goes. We just got to keep working. Shots will fall eventually.”
Perryville got off to a strong start, outscoring DeSoto 11-3 in the first quarter, but things kind of went sideways in the second.
The Pirates continued to play solid defense, holding the Dragons to 4 points, but were only able to score 4 of their own.
“I think shooting comes and goes,” Sample said, “I think as time goes we’ll have some moments where we knock down multiple shots in a row and there’s many times where we miss some shots. I think that’s kind of where we’re at right now. We just got to keep working and eventually things will fall for us.”
The second half was a bit of a different story, as both teams found a more successful shooting rhythm.
The Pirates were able to maintain their lead, but it was a close thing, as they only outscored DeSoto by 4 points.
“It was a very low-scoring game,” Sample said. “It was pretty much a defensive battle, the whole game. We’re just happy we got to win and do some good things.”
Seniors Karston Schilli and Cole Rodewald led the Pirates with 10 points each, followed by senior guard Waylon Huber with 9, all in the second half.
For DeSoto, seniors Grayson Presnell and Austin Horton had 9 points each.
“[DeSoto] is physical,” Sample said. “They’re a scrappy team. They play hard every single possession, and it made it difficult on us. I think we just had a few possessions where we were able to execute and take advantage, and we were able to get the W.”
Perryville 55, Crystal City 49
Senior guard Waylon Huber made five three-pointers in the first half and finished with 18 points to help boost the Perryville Pirates to a close victory over Crystal City on Jan. 7 at the Perryville Middle School gymnasium.
“It was another battle,” said Perryville coach Eli Sample. “[A loss] was just a few possessions away from us. We were able to get the win in the end.”
The Pirates built a sizeable lead in the first half, going up 13-8 in the first quarter and outscoring the Hornets 18-5 in the second quarter to take a 31-13 lead into halftime.
“I felt like we could have pulled away just a little bit more,” Sample said.
That might have been a good idea. After the break, Crystal City went on a tear, scoring 18 points in the third quarter and 16 in the fourth, winning both quarters and very nearly eliminating the Pirates’ first-half advantage.
“At the end of the day, I was super proud of the guys,” Sampe said. “We were able to get the win, so it was a good night. I’m proud of this team.”
