No. 1 Perry survives first big test, holds off No. 2 Liberty in boys basketball game
It's early in the season, but the state's top two teams gave a glimpse of what the first Open Division state championship game could be.
Richard Obert
After going 4-0 last week in Gilbert at the Welcome to the Jungle Thanksgiving basketball tournament and barely breaking a sweat, top-ranked Gilbert Perry wondered how well-conditioned it would be for Tuesday's showdown at No. 2 Peoria Liberty.
Liberty never allowed Perry coach Sam Duane Jr., to rest his starters, including the big two of 5-stars Cody Williams and Koa Peat, but the top-ranked Pumas perservered and prevailed 93-79, pulling away down the stretch inside a packed gym.
"I thought we got tired at times as we hadn't been pushed to play a full game yet this season," Duane said. "The key I felt was that we held our composure and we answered each time they made a run at us."
Perry (5-0), ranked among the top 25 teams in the nation by MaxPreps, outscored its first four opponents by an average score of 79-42.
More:The Arizona Republic's high school boys basketball rankings, Open-1A, through Nov. 27
The 35-second shot clock is new to the Arizona Interscholastic Association this season. But both of these teams would have been fine with a 10-second clock. They waste no time getting up and down the court and putting up shots.
Liberty's athleticsm and great shooters were able to keep up with the defending 6A champions for most of the game. The Lions led 68-67 early in the final quarter on guard Davis Hester's 3-pointer.
Peat, a 6-foot-8 sophomore who is among the top five prospects in ESPN's 2025 class, came into the game with 6:03 left, after sitting out with four fouls.
The game suddenly changed. Peat and the 6-8 Williams each finished with 24 points.
Ben Egbo, Barron Silsby and Nono Brown hit shots and Perry led 78-70 with 3:36 to play.
Williams then made a couple of shots to extend Perry's lead to 85-75.
"We are very pleased with how we competed," said Liberty coach Mark Wood, whose team lost its first game to fall to 4-1. "I felt we played well as a team and learned some things that'll help us become the best version of ourselves.
"Perry is an elite team and playing teams like that builds toughness and resilience and we are thankful for that."
More:The Arizona Republic's top 20 boys HS basketball players of the Thanksgiving tourneys
Liberty was led by Hester's 23 points. Caden Hunter, a 6-5 senior, had 16 points, and 6-4 senior Brennen Neal added 16 points for Liberty.
"We are really young team and still finding our identity so I was really proud of our guys last night," Duane said.
In other games
Surprise Paradise Honors opened its season with an 81-72 overtime win over No. 6-ranked Goodyear Estrella Foothills in 4A. Freshman guard T.J. Harris had 17 points and eight assists, and Josh Morales had 14 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Panthers. River Bell had 14 points and 14 rebounds, as well, for Paradise Honors. Aiden Dunne's seven points in overtime sparked Paradise Honors.
Estrella Foohills was led by 7-foot-1 Noah Amenhauser (23 points) and Cam Houser (22 points).
- Dylan Novak had 28 points and McGuire Andrus 20 to lead top-ranked (4A) American Leadership Gilbert North to a 90-18 rout of Apache Junction. The score was 33-2 after one quarter.
- After getting outscored 10-1 in the first quarter, host Flagstaff fought back to ruin Scottsdale Saguaro's opener with a 73-68 double-overtime win. Flagstaff outscored Saguaro 20-5 in teh third quarter only to get outscored 25-14 in the final quarter to force overtime.
To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert atrichard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on Twitter@azc_obert