Perry claims key NWCC victory

LIMA - Perry overcame some fourth quarter turnover problems Friday to hang on and grab control of the Northwest Central Conference title chase.

The Commodores beat second place Fairbanks, 56-53, to clinch at least a tie for the conference championship.

Davion Williams, a 6-foot-2 senior forward, had a game-high 23 points to pace the Commodores. Williams got off to a hot start when he connected on seven of his first shots from the field.

"We wanted this win real bad and it feels great," Williams said. "My teammates did a good job of getting the ball to me and I tried not to force my shots."

Perry (8-6, 5-0 NWCC) seemed to have the game in control before two five-second calls on inbounds plays caused them to turn the ball over twice in the final minute of play.

Senior Devonaire Johnson made big plays both times to save the day for the Commodores. Johnson picked up a loose ball and made the basket that put Perry up 54-50 with 30 seconds remaining. He then made a steal and converted both ends of a one-and-one with 19 seconds play to seal the victory.

"We tried to give the game away," Perry coach Matt Tabler said in reference to the two late turnovers. "To win the league is a seven-step process and each victory is a confidence-builder."

The Commodores must win one upcoming game against either Waynesfield or Upper Scioto Valley to clinch the league title.

The Commodores also got key contributions from players other than Williams and Johnson. Brandon Riepenhoff finished with nine points and hit big 3-point shots in both the third and fourth to hold off Fairbanks comeback attempts.

"It's a team game and we had a lot of kids step up," Tabler commented. "The kids found Williams open and we were able to play the game one possession at a time."

Another key to the victory was the fact Perry bench players outscored the Panthers bench by a 17 to 4 margin. Alex Howell had three blocks and six points, Cody Riepenhoff contributed nine points and Seaton Thompson chipped in with two points.

Fairbanks (7-6, 5-2 NWCC) started fast by scoring the first five points of the game before Perry responded with a 9-0 run to grab a lead they would never surrender.

Perry mixed up its defensive looks with a man-to-man and various zones designed to slow down Panthers' leading scorer Eli Morris. Morris came in averaging 19 points per game and the Commodores managed to hold him to 14.

"We tried to give them different looks on defense," Tabler said. "We were able to frustrate him (Morris) a little bit; he will probably be the conference player of the year."

Perry shot the ball well in the game finishing at 50 percent on 24 of 48 from the field. Fairbanks managed 43 percent on 18 of 41 shooting.

The Commodores won the battle of the boards by a 23-18 margin while turnovers were almost even with Perry committing 13 to 12 for the Panthers.