Travis Perry scores 33 points in WGM Holiday Classic title game, named event MVP
Travis Perry can add another piece of hardware to his growing trophy case. The Kentucky men’s basketball signee was named Most Valuable Player of the White, Greer & Maggard Holiday Classic following No. 3 Lyon County’s 20-point drumming of previously undefeated No. 2 Lexington Catholic.
During Saturday’s championship battle, Perry popped off for 33 points, five rebounds, and five assists while playing just a hair under 31 minutes. He was efficient shooting the ball, going 11-17 from the field, 7-11 from long range, and 4-5 from the free throw line. Lexington Catholic had Lyon County tied at 44-44 going into halftime, but a 23-8 third-quarter run by the Lyons, including plenty of Perry makes, turned this one into a rout.
“I think they hit 10 3s in the first half. I know they didn’t hit 10 3s in the second half,” Perry said after the win. “That was kinda the difference. Dad (Lyon County head coach Ryan Perry) got onto us, he told us before the game the only way they’re beating us is if they hit 15, and they had 10 at halftime. He got into us a little bit, told us that we just weren’t doing what he said. That’s whenever we took it differently and played hard defense.”
Lexington Catholic went 10-15 from deep in the first half. They finished the game 12-29.
Playing their fourth game in as many days, Perry and Lyon County looked to have extra energy reserves that Lexington Catholic simply couldn’t match. There’s a good reason those second-half triples weren’t falling for the Knights. Lyon County had the conditioning necessary to stay steady. Lexington Catholic did not.
The end result was an 83-63 victory for the Lyons and an impressive four-day stretch in Lexington. Lyon County also took down Bourbon County (97-41), No. 10 DeSales (82-69), and No. 12 Frederick Douglass (86-65), all with relative ease, before blowing out the Knights on their own home floor.
“Things like this help us when it comes time for tournament time,” Perry added. “To win at Rupp, you’ve gotta win four games, four days. Just playing a lot of basketball. Being prepared from things like this really helps.”
Throughout the tournament, Perry scored at least 24 points in all four games. He finished with averages of 27.8 points, four rebounds, and 6.3 assists per contest while shooting 49.4 percent (39-79) from the floor, 45 percent (18-40) from beyond the arc, and 93.8 percent (14-15) from the charity stripe.
Perry wasn’t always perfect, particularly during Friday night’s semifinals against Frederick Douglass when he shot 8-25 from the field, but he only needed 24 hours to brush it off. A good scorer isn’t concerned with whether or not his last shot went in or missed. He’s only thinking about the next one. A great scorer lets it all happen without rushing himself.
“Last night and the night before, I felt like I forced a few things,” Perry said. “Tonight was let it come to me. First half I don’t think I took a shot until three minutes to go in the first quarter. Just letting it come to me. And whenever I finally got the shots, just hitting them.”
Lyon County improved to 12-1 on the season after sweeping the WGM Holiday Classic. The Lyons are only a week removed from dominating two out-of-state teams in the City of Palms Classic, too. With Perry leading the charge, dreams of playing at Rupp Arena for the high school state championship in the spring could very well turn into a reality.
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