Rookie guard leads Reds into Tribune quarter-finals
The Denis Morris Reds senior boys basketball team depends a lot on Grade 10 point guard Demarco Perry.
“We put a lot on his shoulders: to point (guard) the ball; hit shots; get to the line; and, be the general on the floor for us,” Denis Morris head coach Wade Pychel said. “He is definitely getting better over the course of the season and hopefully we can refocus his talents over the next three days for us.”
Day 1 of the 67th Annual Welland Tribune Basketball Tournament went well for Perry and the Reds as they opened the tournament Wednesday with a 51-40 victory over the E.L. Crossley Cyclone at E.L. Crossley. Perry netted 12 points and was named player of the game for his squad.
“One thing I think we need to get him a little better at is distributing the ball and not putting as much pressure on himself,” Pychel said. “He often takes a lot of the scoring on his shoulders and he doesn’t need to do that as much. He needs to distribute and the ball will come to him to score as the game progresses.”
The 15-year-old St. Catharines resident has been playing basketball for the past seven years and is currently playing his travel ball with Bordertown Basketball in Fort Erie.
This is his first year of senior ball at Denis Morris.
“It’s a big step. People are way more aggressive and most of the games are high scoring compared to junior. I also feel there is more energy because more people come and see the games.”
It didn’t take him long to adjust to senior ball.
“I was comfortable my first game mostly because I have been playing a year up (for travel) most years. I am playing a year up this year.”
He agrees with Pychel that he needs to work on his ball distribution.
“Instead of shooting, I like to get in the paint more, drive and kick it out.”
The Reds’ goal for the week is to make it as far as they can in the tournament.
“I know a lot of teams are thinking that they are going to destroy us but I feel like we have a chance,” Perry said.
The Cyclone hung tough with the Reds for the first three quarters of the game, holding leads at certain points and going into the fourth quarter trailing 37-35. Denis Morris put the game out of reach with a 14-2 run in the final quarter.
“I was really happy with the way that the boys fought out there, especially considering our game last night against Thorold,” Crossley head coach Ryan Petro said. “They came out with way more intensity and I was happy with the way they competed for four quarters.”
The Cyclone were done in by cold shooting in the final quarter.
“Our shots stopped falling and we gave up a couple of fast break opportunities for DM that cost us down the stretch, but overall I was really excited for our boys,” he said. “That was a good effort.”
Petro has a lot more at his disposal for the Trib tourney compared to last month’s Standard tournament.
“We have a lot of kids back that we were missing for the Standard tournament. We were playing without three or four starters.”
The Reds played much better in the second half.
“For us, it was a tale of two teams over two halves. In the first half, we weren’t doing the things we normally do like rebound, get loose balls and play strong defence,” Pychel said. “In the second half, we definitely turned it around but all credit to Crossley. They played their hearts out the whole game.”
STATS PACK
Reds 51 Cyclone 40
Mountainview Building Group Players of the Game: DM’s Demarco Perry and Crossley’s Luca Burattini.
For the Denis Morris Reds: Nathan Sansaet 13; Perry 12; Joshua Kaufman 11; Travis Palmer 8; Gabriel Alzate 4; Benjamin Bartley 3.
For the E.L. Crossley Cyclone: Matthew Kleinsmith 13; Jayden Thompson 8; Burattini 8; Ethan Krick 5; Fazal Bhetasi 3; Ethan van Niekerk 3.
