Perry buried its first four 3-pointers to build early separation and never looked back, rolling to a 71-62 win over visiting Geneva on Tuesday in a Chagrin Valley Conference crossover matchup.
Kaden Brewster ignited the Pirates right out of the gate, drilling three straight triples before Carter Hopkins joined the barrage, helping Perry seize control early and set the tone for the night.
“It was huge (to start that hot). We couldn’t have been any more efficient,” said Perry head coach Alan Iacofano. “We turned them over a little bit and got them out of rhythm offensively. I feel like our defense and aggressiveness set the tone for the rest of the game.”
Following Hopkins’ triple, Caden Proy finished through contact, and Dylan Schaef added another 3-pointer as Perry surged ahead 21-10. Brewster then converted on the break, and Chase Sivon powered inside for two, pushing the Pirates’ lead to 25-13 after one quarter.
Schaef added a bucket underneath early in the second, but Proy caught fire for Geneva, scoring 10 straight Eagle points to keep his team within striking distance. Each push, however, was answered by Perry, which carried a 37-27 advantage into halftime.
Proy continued to shoulder the offensive load in the third quarter, pouring in 10 more points, but Brewster countered with another triple while Sivon delivered six points of his own to help extend the lead to 54-40 heading into the final period. The Pirates’ cushion eventually ballooned to 62-42 as they secured a wire-to-wire victory.
“It was a very important win. We’ve won a few games lately, and it was time to take a step up and get a bigger win,” Sivon said.
Perry’s composure stood out as Geneva attempted multiple runs, but the Pirates never wavered, improving to 8-8 on the season with what Iacofano called a signature victory.
“These guys are winners and have winning habits. They’re used to winning in everything they do, and we knew they just needed time,” Iacofano said. “These guys show up, work hard, no matter the score, they stay the course, and we knew we would right the ship at some point solely with the habits these guys show.”
Brewster led Perry with 25 points, knocking down five 3-pointers and collecting three steals, while Sivon added 21 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting night. Hopkins chipped in 10 points for the Pirates.
Geneva, playing its first game in nearly a month, showed signs of rust throughout the night but leaned on Proy’s scoring effort to stay competitive.
“We just have to move on to the next one. We know we’re a good basketball team when we want to be, and we just have to let this loss motivate us,” said Geneva head coach Connor Zimmer. “We have to get some momentum going into Madison and this tough stretch of back-to-back-to-back games and take the adversity head-on. We can’t back down, and we have to figure out a way to deal with it.”
With a rivalry matchup looming, Zimmer believes motivation will come naturally as the Eagles prepare for their next challenge.
“It’s important to have a game like that after tonight. There aren’t many rivalries out there like ours with Madison. I want these guys to be motivated to go play a rival school,” Zimmer said. “Our guys are going to get ready tomorrow, watch film, get shots up, and get that rust off so we can be smooth sailing into Madison as we prepare for them.”
Proy finished with a game-high 35 points in the loss, while Nate Csiszar added 13 points and Schaef contributed 10.
Geneva visits Madison on Feb. 6, while Perry travels to Orange the same day.
