Perry/St. Mary’s Takeaways

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On January 7, 2023 the top ranked <strong>Perry Pumas</strong> traveled to take on the <strong>St. Mary's Knights</strong> in a battle involving some of the more talented players in the country. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the first quarter it was [player_tooltip player_id='994006' first='Styles' last='Phipps'] for the Knights and [player_tooltip player_id='996175' first='Barron' last='Silsby'] for the Pumas. Both were putting on shooting clinics. At half the score was Perry 36 St. Mary's 34. Phipps was on fire as he went for 25 points while only missing 1 shot the entire first half. This was even more impressive considering that he had a defender plus help on him much of the first half. [player_tooltip player_id='831114' first='Cody' last='Williams'] led the Pumas in the first half with 18. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the 2nd half of the game the Pumas continued to keep Phipps and Company at bay despite their star forward [player_tooltip player_id='1129193' first='Koa' last='Peat'] being in foul trouble the entire game. At the end of the 3rd quarter Perry maintained a slim lead at 51-45. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the 4th quarter the Pumas began to pull away a little with the game ending at <strong>81-70</strong>. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Here are some of the standout players from this high profile game:</strong><br><br>[player_tooltip player_id='831114' first='Cody' last='Williams'] <strong>Perry</strong> <strong>(Featured Image)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the top ranked player in the class of 2023 showed why he's just that. He ran the offense with poise and patience. His offensive package included floaters, deep threes and mid range jumpers. His defense was stellar as he showed the lateral quickness to stay with smaller players and used his wingspan to block and/or alter quite a few shots.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='994006' first='Styles' last='Phipps']<strong> St Mary's</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The star of the game put on a show throughout the game. His offensive skills are something to be admired. He got his shot off against any and everybody throughout the game. He has a step back, a side step and many other shots in his arsenal. He also took time to remind you that he's a point guard first and dropped a few beautiful no look dimes. There may not be a craftier scorer in the country from the 1 spot.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='996175' first='Barron' last='Silsby']<strong> Perry</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Silsby continued to show the confidence that's been growing all season. Especially in the first half he hit some big three's that quieted the crowd some. He showed that even when he had a good look he made the extra passes for better shots. In my opinion he's the X factor on the quest to repeat.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1129193' first='Koa' last='Peat'] <strong>Perry</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The top 5 national player didn't get much court time due to foul trouble from the onset. The little time he was out there he made his normal impact. He got rebounds, initiated the break and found cutting teammates. To me his biggest impact was on the defensive end. Stats might show that he only had 2 blocks but he altered a good 5 or 6 other shots. He's still adding to his already excellent skillset. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='831120' first='Seydou' last='Tamboura'] <strong>St Mary's</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Seydou manned the middle and made his presence felt by protecting the paint from penetration or rebounding. A few times players tried to come in his area on slashing moves and he sent them back with blocks. He was the main rebounder for the Knights as he had close to 10 rebounds. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1150848' first='Nolan' last='Brown']<strong> Perry</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The point guard was a spark plug off the bench as he continuously attacked the defense for Perry. Brown was actively looking to find open teammates. He was ready when the ball came back to him, as he hit a couple of outside shots. His energy and speed definitely impacted the game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1482166' first='John' last='Fahrendorf'] <strong>St. Mary's</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The freshman wing displayed a sweet stroke from the three. While he's not a starter yet, he showed the confidence that will make him one very soon. On the defensive end, he battled and got in on some rebounds. He will only get better as the season goes on. <br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->