The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Pirates stake claim in CVC Chagrin race
Control of the Chagrin Valley Conference’s Chagrin Division hung in the balance ahead of Perry’s visit to Harvey on Feb. 14. The Pirates, voted No. 4 in the Division II Ashtabula District, carried extra motivation into their matchup with the Red Raiders, the district’s No. 3 seed.
“We were voted the 12seed by them,” junior guard Nate Cubbison said. “So, we talked about that and it was like an extra chip on our shoulder. We just showed up and tried to get a ‘W.’ That’s what we did.”
Cubbison led Perry with 17 points, Jake Reid scored 16 and Jordan Anderson added 13 off the bench as the Pirates completed a season sweep of Harvey, 65-63, in Painesville. Perry improved to 14-5 overall and is 10-3 in the CVC Chagrin. The Pirates join Beachwood and Harvey atop the conference with 10-3 records.
Perry lost its first two games in league play, which made coach Al Iacofano adjust the team’s goals. Yet, the Pirates are atop the conference headed into their final league game against Orange on Feb. 19.
“We knew how hard our league was,” Iacofano said. “When we started off 0-2, I’d be lying if I said I expected to be in this position at the end of league play.”
Harvey led, 14-6, in front of a raucous home crowd early in the first quarter. Anderson scored twice to pull the Pirates within four, 14-10, at the end of the period. The Red Raiders led, 20-14, when Perry embarked on a 14-2 run to take a 28-22 lead into halftime.
Cubbison knocked down his first 3 to open the half and Reid scored twice to stretch the Pirates’ lead into double-digits early in the second half. Threepointers from Cubbison and Reid after a Harvey timeout peaked their team’s lead at 17, 41-24. The Red Raiders trailed, 49-35, headed to the final period.
Devon Holbert and Rod Coffee III sparked Harvey’s rally in the fourth. Holbert’s and-one layup brought the Red Raiders within six, 57-51, midway through the quarter. A minute remained when Coffee drove and kicked out to Daylin Davis for a corner 3 that sliced Perry’s lead to one, 59-58. Harvey had an open 3-pointer rim out down one with 30 seconds to play, and the Pirates iced their win at the foul line.
Anderson keyed Perry’s victory off the bench with his defensive effort. He guarded the Red Raiders’ primary ballhandlers while he was on the floor and lifted the offense with his scoring. Iacofano was proud of Anderson’s performance against his former school.
“It’s my senior year and it’ll be nice to, you know, win our conference,” Anderson said. “I just wanted to have a memory so when I look back at this I can be like, we won our conference.”
Holbert led all scorers with 26 points and Coffee added 12. Harvey fell to 13-5 and is 10-3 in the CVC Chagrin. The Red Raiders play Cornerstone Christian and Benedictine before they close conference play against Beachwood on Feb. 22.
The next step for coach Dave Wojciechowski’s team is learning how to win games in tense environments. Harvey’s three league losses were decided by a combined nine points. Wojciechowski credited Holbert’s effort, as the junior nearly led his teammates back from the brink after Perry’s momentumshifting run to close the second quarter and open the third.