Top AIA Game of the Week: Perry at Liberty

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On Monday November 28th the 2022-23 AIA season kicked off with a bang. With what could have been a preview of the Open Division Championship, the <strong>Perry Pumas</strong> of Gilbert traveled to the Northwest Valley to take on the Peoria <strong>Liberty Lions</strong>. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The game started off a little slow but quickly picked up speed. [player_tooltip player_id='1129193' first='Koa' last='Peat'] led the way early for Perry and for Liberty it was [player_tooltip player_id='1216984' first='Caden' last='Hunter']. The first quarter ended with Perry up 22-20. The 2nd quarter had Liberty going a little cold from the outside and Perry continuing to take advantage of their length and athleticism. Perry ended the first half up 44-36. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2nd half found both teams having one of their star players each pick up their fourth foul. With Peat on the bench Liberty shows their toughness and fight by cutting the lead to one point going into the 4th quarter. Perry outscored Liberty 30-17 in the 4th quarter to pull out the victory <strong>93-79</strong>. Liberty definitely had their chances as some of those three's that normally fall weren't falling in the last quarter. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Here are some of the standouts in a game that had many:</strong><br><br>[player_tooltip player_id='996175' first='Barron' last='Silsby'] <strong>Perry</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The junior guard, in my opinion, was the X factor for Perry, especially in the 4th quarter. Barron's shooting helped create space for his teammates and numerous times he found a small crack in the defense on his way to the rim.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='831114' first='Cody' last='Williams'] <strong>Perry </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 5 star prospect played as advertised finishing with 24 points and directing the offense. While his three ball wasn't falling as normal, his length and ability to get in the lane is a hard cover for anyone. His use of his left hand is something not common of players on any level including professional. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1129193' first='Koa' last='Peat'] <strong>Perry</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another 5 star whose ranking is justified. Koa came out like he was ready for a championship boxing match. He's an extremely hard cover because if you put someone on him his height he's gonna go right by him. If you put someone smaller and quicker he's gonna put them on his back and take them for a ride. Koa finished with 24 points and 8 rebounds in limited minutes due to foul trouble.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1132004' first='Davis' last='Hester'] <strong>Liberty</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Davis is one who I was very impressed with. He's always been known as a shooter, but in this game he showed me much more. He looked more comfortable off the dribble showing more wiggle to his game than previously. He also was locked in more on defense. He stepped up big for Liberty finishing with 22 points on only 10 attempts. <br><br>[player_tooltip player_id='1216984' first='Caden' last='Hunter'] <strong>Liberty</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hunter came out the gate focused and it showed in his play. He hit his first few jumpers in the first quarter. Caden also is a tough inside out match-up for defenders. He's as tough as they come as displayed by the multiple charges that he took in the game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1131814' first='Ring' last='Nyeri'] <strong>Liberty</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The junior forward is finally healthy and made his presence felt in this game on both ends of the floor. I was surprised by his touch from the perimeter as he went 2-4 from the three point line. On defense he showed good timing on contesting shots and was quick off the ground for rebounds. Ring finished with 11 points and 6 rebounds in limited time like Peat due to foul trouble.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='814513' first='Ben' last='Egbo'] <strong>Perry</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The athletic wing made his impact on the game by being ready whenever his chance came up. His ability to run the baseline and be ready for the pass or to crash the offensive boards was evident in this game. Ben had some highlight reel dunks, and on a few rebounds, he looked like he was the only one jumping. He finished with a near double double.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1334788' first='Brennen' last='Neal'] <strong>Liberty</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The senior came off the bench and provided the Lions with a big lift. When Nyeri sat a lot of the 3rd quarter, Neal took this time to shine. There were a few times when it looked like Perry was gonna get the lead to double digits in the 3rd quarter, Neal would hit a big 3. You couldn't tell that he was a bench player. He finished with 16 BIG points. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='814037' first='Ky' last='Green']<strong> Liberty</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The senior wing sacrificed his offense a lot in this game by initiating his teams offense looking to set up his teammates. He often got into the teeth of the defense and kicked it to the open shooter. Ky finished with 12 points. <br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->