The Greene County boys basketball team finished the regular season with a non-conference loss Tuesday to the Perry Blue Jays in a game that went right down to the last buzzer. With eight seconds to play in the game, Ram senior Trey Tucker scored his last two points of a career-high 43 point game to tie the score at 62. Perry called a time out and set up a play that got the ball to junior Drew Levan, who had scored just three points in the game. Levan put up a 3-point shot to give the Blue Jays the win, 65-62.
Fouls and free throws were crucial in the game. The Perry starting line-up had a definite height advantage over the Rams. The Rams’ tallest starter and third highest scorer, junior Wade Adcock at 6′ 4″, was called for three fouls in the first five minutes of play. He saw limited playing time the rest of the game and finished with just two points, below his season average of 12.3 points.
At the free throw line, the Rams shot at 69 percent, making nine of 13 shots. The Blue Jays shot at only 51 percent, but they were at the line 29 times.
Tucker finished the regular season big, scoring 43 points in the game, matching the all-time single game scoring record for a Jefferson-based basketball team. He finished the regular season with 1,800 career points, well ahead of the previous record of 1,538 held by Adam Jones since 1998. Tucker made four 3-point shots and made nine of 11 free throws.
Sophomore Trey Hinote scored 13 points and Adcock and seniors Calvin Skalla and Thomas Jacobsen scored added two each.
The Rams shot at 40 percent from the floor and the Blue Jays shot at 53 percent. The Rams outplayed the Blue Jays in ball handling, turning the ball over only four times to the Blue Jays’ 11 turnovers.
The Rams were up by one point at halftime, 31-30. In the third quarter the Blue Jays scored 20 points, powered by Javier Fuente’s 17 points. The Jays were ahead 50-46 at the end of the quarter.
The Rams tied the score at 52 with just over six minutes to play, and the score was still tied at 56 with two minutes to play. With one minute to play and the Jays up by one, Skalla stole the ball but was whistled for a foul. Perry made one of two free throws for a 60-58 lead. Tucker tied the score with a pair of free throws, but the Jays reclaimed a two point lead, also from the charity line. Tucker tied the score again, that time with a field goal with eight seconds to play. Perry called a time out and set up their game-winning play.
The Rams finished the season with an overall record of 14-7 and in second place behind South Hamilton in the Heart of Iowa Activities Conference. They begin post season play Monday, Feb. 20, against Dallas Center-Grimes in Grimes, at about 8 pm. The DC-G Mustangs are 12-8 on the season.
