Koa Peat, Perry show championship fight against Mt. Spokane in LSI quarterfinal: ‘It’s never over until the clock is at zero’

“We played hard, stayed true to our principles, and we came out on top”

Author:
Bob Lundeberg
Publish date:
Dec 28, 2023 11:37 PM EST

HILLSBORO — For the second consecutive day, Perry found itself in an early hole at the Les Schwab Invitational.

The Pumas responded with a big second quarter to get by Jesuit in the opening round, but the Arizona power needed even more to fend off an upset bid from Mt. Spokane in Thursday’s quarterfinal action at Liberty High School.

Trailing 17-4 after one period and locked in a 47-47 tie heading to the fourth, Perry dominated the final quarter from start to finish en route to a 72-61 victory. The taller Pumas (10-3) got a combined 43 points and 21 rebounds from junior forwards D’Andre Harrison and Koa Peat, who were too much for Mt. Spokane (7-1) to handle in the paint.

“I thought we were really resilient,” said the 6-foot-9 Peat, a top-five national prospect for the class of 2025. “The guys came out and just played hard, and that’s all you can ask for. We played hard, stayed true to our principles, and we came out on top.”

Perry Mt. Spokane boys basketball Les Schwab Invitational game December 28 2023 Naji Saker-8

Added Harrison: “We just kept fighting. We were down, but we stuck to the course and kept fighting because it’s never over until the clock is at zero.”

Peat battled back from early foul trouble to finish with 20 points, nine rebounds and three blocks.

While Peat received extra attention at all times, the 6-foot-5 Harrison had an even bigger stat line of 23 points, 12 rebounds, two assists and two steals.

“He’s really taking the pressure off me because guys are doubling me, tripling me,” Peat said. “He’s really taken that second-man role for us, and I’m proud of him. I’ve seen him put the work in and he’s turned himself into a really good player.”

Perry Mt. Spokane boys basketball Les Schwab Invitational game December 28 2023 Naji Saker-86

St. Thomas (Minnesota) signee Ryan Lafferty carried Mt. Spokane with 25 points, six rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a steal. Bode Gardner also had a big game with 14 points, seven rebounds, two assists and five steals.

The Wildcats collected 11 steals as a team and forced 19 turnovers while flying around the court on defense.

“We were prepared and we came out with a lot of energy, too, which helped us big-time,” Lafferty said. “We knew we were going to have to have a lot of energy because they’re a really good team.”

Mt. Spokane, which placed third at last season’s Washington Class 3A state tournament, led 7-0 early as Perry failed to convert several close-range shots. Peat finally got the Pumas on the board with a put-back, snapping a streak of five misses in the paint.

Perry continued to look out of sorts in the opening period, and the Wildcats took advantage. The lead swelled to 17-4 after a Lafferty block of Peat and a transition finish on the other end. Peat was whistled for his second foul after a turnover late in the quarter with Perry down 13.

Perry Mt. Spokane boys basketball Les Schwab Invitational game December 28 2023 Naji Saker-64

“I feel like we’ve just come out slow and when the game gets going, we pick it up,” Harrison said. The Pumas trailed Jesuit 17-16 after one quarter before regrouping for a comfortable 12-point win.

“We’ve got to fix that, start off fast and keep playing fast to the end.”

Harrison willed the reigning Arizona Open Division champions back in the game by scoring the Pumas’ first nine points of the second quarter. The junior netted 15 points in the period, and the teams entered halftime locked in a 28-28 tie.

Perry had 10 offensive rebounds in the first half.

“Rebounding is really what got us back into it,” Peat said. “Offensive rebounding, especially.”

Perry Mt. Spokane boys basketball Les Schwab Invitational game December 28 2023 Naji Saker-76

Peat scored on the opening possession of the third quarter to give Perry its first lead at 30-28. The five-star big man made it 39-32 with a transition finish, but Mt. Spokane answered with an 8-0 run that included dunks from Gardner and Andrew Rayment.

With Peat sitting on the bench with four fouls, the Pumas jumped out to a 55-49 lead early in the fourth quarter. Barron Silsby netted five in a row, extending the Perry advantage to 62-53 with three minutes remaining.

“They came out and had a good start to the fourth, and we couldn’t really catch back up,” Lafferty said.

Peat, who put it away with an acrobatic and-one finish at the 2:30 mark, was proud of the way Perry regrouped after another slow start at the LSI.

“I would say that we need to come out stronger, but it just shows how good we are,” Peat said. “We’re a championship team because we fought. We showed we’ve got fight in us, and next game our game plan will be to come out stronger.”

Perry Mt. Spokane boys basketball Les Schwab Invitational game December 28 2023 Naji Saker-15

Lafferty believes there are plenty of positives to take from Thursday’s loss.

Mt. Spokane didn’t look sharp in its 60-57 opening-round win over West Linn, but the team still found a way to get by the defending LSI champions. Other than rebounding (Perry won the battle of the boards, 41-31), the Wildcats went toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the country.

“We’re excited to show people what we’re about, show people our toughness,” Lafferty said. “We’re going to learn from this, bounce back tomorrow and get a good win, hopefully.”

Photos by Naji Saker