Lansing Christian at Perry – – Boys Basketball – – The Bleacher Denizen – – January 7, 2022 – – by Chuck Krafft

It was a dark and freezing night. (I figure that if Charles Schulz could use a similar line in Peanuts whenever Snoopy started writing a novel that it was good enough for the Bleacher Denizen!) Tonight, Perry is the destination for your Bleacher Denizen’s journey. (I’m doing research to see which credentials I need to acquire so I can refer to my travels as an “odyssey.” It will be so much cooler to do the blog then!!)

However, it’s possible that the Bleacher Denizen loses any claim to coolness when he posts You Tube videos of hundred year old songs like this one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUieaBvS38w

The Perry Ramblers enter the game with a 3-2 record. They will host the Pilgrims from Lansing Christian, who has lost their only two games so far this year.

Perry is led by seniors Jack Lamb and Colton Sanderson. Jack Lamb is a guard with an accurate three point shot who is solid at all aspects of point guard play including ball handling, passing and perimeter defense. Colton Sanderson is the man in the middle. He is a tough rebounder and defender in the post who also scores well in the paint. Cody Swain is aggressive on offense and defense and is good at getting to the basket. Thanks to Coach Scot Selbig for providing the above information about his Ramblers.

Lansing Christian Coach Chris Mustaine provided this information about his Pilgrim team. Elijah Ellis runs the point. He focuses on handling and distributing the ball on offense and is a strong perimeter defender. He can hit the open shot when needed. Caden Kinnas and Benjamin Sullivan are excellent three point shooters. Timothy Sullivan is a fine rebounder who can slash to the basket. He is really tough on defense and is willing to take charging fouls. Baylor Brogan is plays fine defense and rebounds well in the post. He is also excellent at running the floor on the fast break.

Judah Schafer is effective slashing to the basket. Samuel Israel is an athletic player who provides strong post defense. Noah Link provides depth at the point guard position. Dylan Kinnas is athletic and shoots the ball well. August Granger plays in the post and can score.

I was able to watch the last half of the JV game. Perry had a 19-11 lead at halftime. Lansing Christian closed the lead to five points at 29-24 by the end of the third quarter. Perry expanded their lead to 38-28 before Lansing Christian made a comeback, but Perry was able to hold off the Pilgrims and won 41-36.

Ethan Damesworth led the Pilgrim JVs with 8 points. Phillip Curry supported him with 7 points. David Hall scored 5 points. Owen Resch, Payton Allaire and Cameron Damesworth each added 4 points. Brayden Moore and Trevor Orton put in two points each.

Joey McGraw-Allen led the victorious Rambler JVs with 12 points. Keegan Brown joined his teammate in double figures with 11 points. Tristan Krupp added 9 points. Austin Poirier scored 4 points. Bobby Sees added 3 points and Tanner Selbig tallied 2 points.

It is now time to review the events of this game through the eagle eyes (well, perhaps the eyes of a near-sighted eagle) of an aging Bleacher Denizen who never did escape church league when he attempted to play basketball during the medieval period. To be fair, while his shooting was frequently criticized, many players struggled with shooting the cannon balls that doubled as basketballs during this period of our history.

Perry wins the opening tap. Elijah Ellis steals the ball for Christian. Jack Lamb blocks a Christian fast break layup. Perry misses a fast break layup. Christian misses a threeball from the top of the key. Jack Lamb drives and hits a layup and makes a free throw to give the Ramblers the first three points of the game. Christian misfires on a threeball from the side; the rebound goes out of bounds and Perry takes possession. The Ramblers miss a three point shot from the wing. Cody Swain pulls down the offensive rebound; he drives in and hits a layup to give Perry a 5-0 lead.

Christian misses a driving layup. Baylor Brogan knocks the ball away from Perry and Caden Kinnas picks it up for Christian. Christian misses a twelve foot shot from the side. Timothy Sullivan snares the offensive rebound for the Pilgrims. Christian misses a ten foot shot from the side. Perry misses a driving banked hook shot. Christian misses a three point shot from the side. The Bleacher Denizen misses watching the ball go through the basket. Cody Swain feels the Bleacher Denizen’s angst and hits a fast break putback for Perry. He is fouled on the play and sinks his free throw to give his Ramblers an 8-0 lead with 4:24 to go in the first quarter.

Christian commits an over and back violation. Perry misses a threeball from near the top of the key. Jylon Peek draws a charging foul from the Pilgrims. Noah Link steals the ball for the Pilgrims. Christian misses a twelve foot shot from the side. Perry misfires on a triple try from the top of the key. Cody Swain knocks the ball away from Christian, but the Pilgrims are able to recover. Christian misses a layup. Perry misses a threeball from the side. Colton Sanderson is fouled on a putback and hits one of his two free throws to extend the Perry lead to 9-0 with 2:37 remaining in the quarter.

The Sullivan Connection comes through for the Pilgrims as Timothy Sullivan passes to Benjamin Sullivan, who hits a three point shot from the top of the key to give Christian its first points. Jylon Peek responds with a threeball from the side for Perry. Jylon Peek knocks the ball away from Christian, but the Pilgrims recover. Jylon Peek dives and causes a tieup. The Possession Arrow was reading comic books, missed the play and awarded the ball to Christian. Christian misses a three point shot from the side. Jylon Peek drives the lane and dishes to Colton Sanderson for a Perry layup. Caden Kinnas throws in a threeball from the side for Christian to trim the Perry lead to 14-6.

D.J. Jenks hits a three point shot from the side for Perry. Christian misses a three point shot from the side. D.J. Jenks is fouled on a driving layup and hits two free throws to push the Perry lead to 19-6 with 45.2 seconds left on the first quarter clock.

Christian misses a three pointer from the top of the key. Judah Schafer pulls down the offensive rebound for the Pilgrims. Christian misses a three point shot; Caden Kinnas gets the offensive rebound for the Pilgrims. Christian misses a three point shot from the top of the key as the first quarter buzzer sounds.

After one quarter, Perry has a 19-6 lead.

Perry inbounds the ball to start out the second quarter. August Granger stands tall in the lane and causes a Perry traveling violation. Christian misses a three point shot from the side. Timothy Sullivan gets the offensive rebound for the Pilgrims. Jack Lamb steals the ball for the Ramblers. Perry is fouled on a six foot shot in the lane, but misses two free throws. The rebound goes out of bounds and Perry gets another possession. Perry travels with the ball. (I guess that’s a standard basketball cliche, so I’ll use it; deep down, I wonder if traveling without the ball would be terribly newsworthy.) Caden Kinnas throws in an eight foot lean back jumper from the baseline to trim the Rambler lead to 19-8.

Jack Lamb throws in a threeball from the wing for Perry. Jack Lamb steals the ball and hits a fast break layup for Perry. Benjamin Sullivan passes to August Granger, who hits a fast break layup for Christian. Perry commits a traveling violation. Christian reciprocates and commits a traveling violation. Benjamin Sullivan nearly steals the ball for Christian, but his momentum forces him to step on the sideline. Blake Lantis drives the baseline and hits a layup for Perry to extend the Rambler lead to 26-10.

Blake Lantis steals the ball for the Ramblers. Perry misses a layup. D.J. Jenks gets the offensive rebound for Perry. Perry misses a layup. Judah Schafer is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of the two free throws, but a lane violation negates the successful free throw. Perry misses a three point shot from the corner. Christian misses a fast break layup. A Rambler dribbler steps on the baseline. Parker Davis knocks the ball out of bounds; Christian retains possession. Elijah Ellis passes to August Granger, who hits a layup to trim the Perry lead to 26-12.

Perry misses a fifteen foot shot from the side. Elijah Ellis hits a fast break layup for Christian. Perry misses a twelve foot shot from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Pilgrims get another opportunity. Cody Swain passes to Jack Lamb, who throws in a threeball from the side for the Ramblers. Christian throws a pass out of bounds. Perry misses a threeball from the side. Parker Davis blocks a Christian three pointer from the side. Perry throws an outlet pass to high and it sails out of bounds. Elijah Ellis passes to August Granger, who hits a layup for Christian. He is fouled on the play and makes his free throw. With 2:19 remaining in the first half, the Perry lead is at 29-17.

Keaton Lantis passes to Colton Sanderson, who uses some fine post footwork to free himself to score a layup for Perry. Dylan Kinnas passes to Benjamin Sullivan, who hits a three point shot from the side for Christian. Perry misses a layup. Christian misses a three point shot from the wing. Perry misses a driving layup; Colton Sanderson hits a putback for the Ramblers to extend the Perry lead to 33-20.

Christian misses a six foot shot from the lane. Timothy Sullivan and Samuel Israel execute a double team and Perry loses the ball out of bounds. Christian is whistled for a traveling violation. Elijah Ellis knocks the ball away from Perry and Benjamin Sullivan picks it up for Christian. Benjamin Sullivan strokes a threeball from the wing as the first half ends.

At halftime, Perry has a 33-23 lead.

Benjamin Sullivan leads the Christian scoring with 9 points at halftime and August Granger has 7 points.

Jack Lamb has 11 points to lead the Perry scoring and Colton Sanderson has 7 points.

Christian has the ball to open the third quarter. Baylor Brogan passes to Caden Kinnas, who catches the ball, takes a hard dribble to free himself and throws a threeball from the wing through the hoop for Christian. Perry turns the ball over. Christian misses a driving six footer in the lane. Jack Lamb is fouled on a ten foot shot from the baseline. He hits one of his two free throws to stretch the Perry lead to 34-26 with 7:14 to play in the third quarter.

Christian fumbles a pass out of bounds. Perry misses a three point shot from the side. Christian misses a driving layup. Perry misses a threeball from the corner; Parker Davis gets the offensive rebound for the Ramblers. Perry misses a close-in shot. Jack Lamb snags the offensive rebound for the Ramblers. Perry misses a layup. Cody Swain steals the ball for Perry, is fouled and hits one of his two free throws. With 6:12 to go in the quarter, the Perry lead is at 35-26.

Jack Lamb steals the ball and passes to Blake Lantis for a Perry layup. Blake Lantis steals the ball for the Ramblers. Perry loses the ball out of bounds. Elijah Ellis passes to Benjamin Sullivan, who is fouled on a layup. Benjamin Sullivan hits one of his two free throws for the Pilgrims. Jack Lamb drives and hits a layup for Perry. Caden Kinnas slings in a trey from the side for Christian. Cody Swain drives and hits a layup to boost the Perry lead to 41-30.

Christian misses a driving layup. Perry reciprocates and misses a driving layup. Elijah Ellis passes to Baylor Brogan, who hits a three point shot from the corner for Christian. Perry misses a layup. Judah Schafer drives and hits a layup for Christian to cut the Perry lead to 41-35.

Perry misses a three point shot from the wing. Christian is assessed with a traveling violation. Perry misfires on a threeball from the corner. Christian misses a three pointer from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and Perry takes possession. Judah Schafer blocks a Perry layup. Caden Kinnas hits a jumper off the dribble from the free throw line for Christian. Cody Swain drives and hits a layup to give Perry a 43-37 lead.

Colton Sanderson blocks a Christian layup. Perry misses a three point shot from the side. Cody Swain gets the offensive rebound for the Ramblers. Perry misses an eight footer from the baseline and fouls on the rebound. Christian misses a sixteen foot shot from the side. Timothy Sullivan saves the offensive rebound to a Pilgrim teammate. Cody Swain steals the ball for the Ramblers. Perry misfires on a triple try from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and Christian gets the ball. Caden Kinnas hits a three point shot from the side to cut the Perry lead to three points at 43-40.

Judah Schafer steals the ball for Christian. Jylon Peek steals the ball for Perry. Perry misses a driving six footer in the lane. Christian misses a jumper off the dribble from the free throw line. Perry misses a three point shot past the top of the key at the buzzer.

With three quarters in the books Perry’s lead is at 43-40.

Perry has the ball to start out the fourth quarter, but Benjamin Sullivan quickly steals the ball for the Pilgrims. Christian misses a three point shot from the side. Judah Schafer gets the offensive rebound for Christian. Christian misses a three pointer from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and Perry takes possession. Perry passes the ball into and through the lane; it goes out of bounds and Christian takes possession. Jake DeJarlais knocks the ball away from Christian and Cody Swain picks it up for Perry. Cody Swain is fouled on a layup and hits one of his two free throws to boost Perry’s lead to 44-40 with 6:44 left in the final quarter.

Colton Sanderson blocks a Christian layup. Colton Sanderson puts back a missed Perry layup for two Rambler points. Christian misses a layup. Caden Kinnas steals the ball for the Pilgrims. Christian misses a fast break layup and fouls on the rebound. Perry misses a three pointer from the side. The rebound is tied up. After consulting various basketball experts as well as a committee of Rambling Pilgrims, the Possession Arrow decrees that Christian shall have the ball. Benjamin Sullivan is fouled on a driving layup. He hits one of his two free throws to trim the Perry lead to 46-41 with 4:23 left on the clock.

Perry misses a three point shot from the top of the key. Colton Sanderson snags the offensive rebound for Perry. The Ramblers miss a layup. Perry is fouled on a rebound, but misses the first shot of a one and one free throw opportunity. Elijah Ellis passes to Benjamin Sullivan, who throws in a threeball from the wing to slash the Perry lead to two points. Perry is fouled on a putback, but misses two free throws. Benjamin Sullivan drives the lane and dishes the ball to Samuel Israel, who hits a layup for Christian to tie the game at 46-46.

Benjamin Sullivan nearly steals the ball for Christian, but can’t keep his body in bounds. Perry misses a driving layup. Perry is fouled on the rebound, but misses the first shot of a one and one free throw opportunity. Christian misses a three point shot from the wing. Cody Swain is fouled on a six foot runner and hits two free throws to give Perry a 48-46 lead with 2:21 to play.

Colton Sanderson blocks a Christian layup; the ball goes out of bounds and Christian gets it back. Christian misfires on a threeball from the side. Cody Swain drives and hits a layup for Perry. Christian misses a driving layup. Perry stalls for about thirty seconds until Cody Swain is fouled. Cody Swain hits one of his two free throws to boost Perry to a 51-46 lead with 1:02 remaining.

Christian misses a three point shot from the wing. Perry saves the rebound under the Christian basket and Benjamin Sullivan converts the loose ball into a Christian layup. Jack Lame is fouled and hits one of his two free throws to give the Ramblers a 52-48 lead with 27.1 seconds to go.

Christian misses a driving layup. Jack Lamb is fouled and hits two free throws for Perry. Christian misses a three point shot from the side. Jack Lamb is fouled as he secures the rebound for Perry. Jack Lamb hits one of his two free throws. Colton Sanderson gets the offensive rebound for Perry and the Ramblers run the last couple seconds off the clock.

Perry wins 55-48.

Benjamin Sullivan and Caden Kinnas each had 16 points to lead the Christian scoring. August Granger had 7 points, all in the first half, to help prevent Perry from blowing the game wide open. Baylor Brogan scored 3 points. Elijah Ellis, Judah Schafer and Samuel Israel each had 2 points.

Jack Lamb had 18 points and Cody Swain had 16 points to lead Perry’s scoring. Colton Sanderson supported his teammates with 9 points to go along with a lot of rebounds and some great inside defense. D.J. Jenks had 5 points in the first quarter to help the Ramblers get their early lead. Blake Lantis scored 4 points. Jylon Peek had 3 points and dominated part of the first quarter with his defense and hustle.