PERRY—Drew Schiano’s 3-pointer as time expired led Perry to a 68-65 win over visiting Harvey in a Chagrin Valley Conference Chagrin Division showdown.
The buzzer-beater also proved that second options aren’t always a bad thing.
“I was just trying to get the ball into the hands of the guys that we know who have the best chance of knocking down a shot from the perimeter,” Perry coach Al Iacofano said. “Nate (Cubbison) was our first option, Drew was our second and we had Matt Cool come in as kind of a safety guy. We’ll take our chances with any two of those guys. I’d say that even if Drew missed it.”
Jaylen Anderson looked to inbound the ball to Cubbison but Harvey had covered up Perry’s first option.
Anderson found Schiano, who finished with 11 points, none bigger than the 3 that handed Harvey its first loss in league play.
“I got the ball at like around half court,” Schiano said. “I just knew I had three seconds to make a couple dribbles and I had to shoot a shot.”
Harvey led 23-18 after the first quarter but the Pirates outscored the Red Raiders in the second quarter, 23-10, to take a 41-33 lead into the break.
Cubbison’s 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the half gave the Pirates even more momentum.
“I called a trap and we gave them an open 3 right before half,” Harvey coach Dave Wojciechowski said. “There’s a difference-maker in the game. That 3 was probably on me. That’s probably a possession late in the half where we should have went straight man and made them earn something. We gave them one and the kid hit a nice shot. We’ll live and learn from that.”
The Red Raiders responded with a 20-9 run in the third quarter to regain the lead heading into the fourth, 53-50.
“I think it was a tale of two halves,” Harvey coach Dave Wojciechowski said. “We wanted to speed them up but I thought they handled the ball and did some really good things in the first half. In the second half, we switched it completely around and I thought we played a really solid straight half-court man defense.”
Harvey and Perry took turns maintaining the lead in the fourth quarter before Bishop Thomas hit a pair of free throws to tie the score at 65-65 leading up to Schiano’s game-winner.
“I’ve been seeing Drew that, no exaggeration, since fourth grade,” Iacofano said. “Not all the time, but I’ve seen him make a lot of those types of shots in that situation since fourth-grade travel. I’m happy for him, I’m happy for the guys. It was a big one for the program.”
Cool led the Pirates with 18 points while Cubbison finished with 16.
The Pirates have now won seven of their last eight games to improve to 8-4 overall and 6-3 in league play.
Harvey dropped to 9-3, 6-1.
“We’ve got a big game with West Geauga at home and I think our guys have to realize that success is one thing; we’re not always going to be there,” Wojciechowski said. “It’s a long year. It’s going to be a test to see how they bounce back. I think I know our guys pretty well and I think we’ll come out ready to play on Friday. It’s a good learning experience for us tonight.”
Perry 68, Harvey 65
Perry (7-4, 6-3 CVC): Schiano 11, Jay.Anderson 6, Cubbison 16, Reid 12, Cool 18, Ford 2, Jor.Anderson 3.
Harvey (9-3, 6-1 CVC): Holbert 16, Early 11, Thomas 10, Coffee 13, Davis 13, Cunningham 2.
Harvey 23 10 20 12 — 65
Perry 18 23 9 18 — 68
Free throws: Harvey 12 of 20, Perry 10 of 19; 3-pointers: Harvey 6 (Davis 3, Early 3), Perry 8 (Cubbison 4, Reid 2, Schiano 2).
Perry 68, Harvey 65
Perry (7-4, 6-3 CVC): Schiano 11, Jay.Anderson 6, Cubbison 16, Reid 12, Cool 18, Ford 2, Jor.Anderson 3.
Harvey (9-3, 6-1 CVC): Holbert 16, Early 11, Thomas 10, Coffee 13, Davis 13, Cunningham 2.
Harvey 23 10 20 12 — 65
Perry 18 23 9 18 — 68
Free throws: Harvey 12 of 20, Perry 10 of 19; 3-pointers: Harvey 6 (Davis 3, Early 3), Perry 8 (Cubbison 4, Reid 2, Schiano 2).
