‘There’s no way it’s going to end like this.’ Travis Perry sparks Lyon County comeback.
With his team down 41-34 with 5:29 to go against Ashland Blazer in their UK HealthCare Boys’ Sweet 16 first-round game, Lyon County’s Travis Perry contemplated the end of his storied high school basketball career.
“You’re sitting there on the bench with the timeout called, and you’re down seven and have only scored 34 points,” Perry, Kentucky boys’ basketball’s all-time leading scorer, recalled. “What was really going through my head was, ‘There’s no way it’s going to end like this.”
Out of the timeout, Perry got a steal and fed the ball ahead to Brady Shoulders for an easy layup that sparked Lyon County to an 11-2 run to close out their 45-43 win at Rupp Arena on Wednesday afternoon. Shoulders nailed a pair of free throws with 3.7 seconds left to complete the comeback.
Perry had five points, three steals and two of his team-high five assists in the fourth quarter. His 15-foot jumper with 4:05 left retook the lead, 42-41, and and set up a frantic finish.
Ashland answered with Braxton Jennings’ layup for a 43-42 Tomcats lead with 2:27 to go. Perry then fumbled the ball into a scrum on the floor on the next possession, but came out of the pile with a shot attempt that drew a foul. He made one of two free throws to tie the game at 43 with 2:03 left.
The teams exchanged turnovers late with Ashland giving Lyon the ball with 1:04 to go on a botched inbounds play.
Shoulders held the ball up top and let the clock run down to 10 seconds before starting his move into the lane. The play was for Shoulders to drive and pass off for a teammate’s layup if anyone was open. But Ashland kept tight to his teammates.
“I just shot it,” Shoulders said. “Luckily I got fouled because I don’t think it was the best shot.”
Shoulders went to the free throw line with 3.7 seconds left and made both foul shots around an Ashland timeout. Perry disrupted Ashland’s ensuing play for the win and a long heave with 1.4 seconds left fell short.
Lyon County coach Ryan Perry knew Ashland (23-11) would key on his son in that situation. He trusted Shoulders to deliver.
“I thought Brady was going to get it done there,” Coach Perry said.
Shoulders finished with a game-high 17 points. Perry added 16, shooting 1-of-7 from 3-point distance. Shoulders scored six points in the fourth.
Lyon County (33-3) looked like it might win easily after taking a 26-17 lead at halftime. The Lyons led by as many as many as 12 points twice. But Ashland responded out of the break with 24-8 run that included a pair of 3-pointers by Cam Davis and another by Nate Freize that helped the Tomcats seize momentum.
“I was super proud of our guys — back against the wall,” Coach Perry said. “It’s easy to fall into playing fast and taking bad shots and not getting in the right spots on defense.”
Ashland took its largest lead on a Jennings layup to make it 41-34 with 5:54 to play. Jennings led the Tomcats with 12 points. Adkins had 11. Ashland’s five fourth quarter turnovers led to 10 of Lyon County’s 13 closing points.
“Our guys, defensively, executed our game plan to perfection. … I could not have literally asked for any more from this bunch defensively, and they’ve done that all year,” Ashland coach Ryan Bonner said. “I knew we would come in here and have a chance to win it, though. And we did. We just had a few too many turnovers, especially late, and we needed those possessions.”
This story was originally published March 20, 2024 at 5:34 PM.
