The Perry boys basketball team picked up their first Heart of Iowa conference victory Tuesday night defeating PCM 72-60.  After a couple of near misses early this season, Perry put it all together last night, racing out to a 43-29 halftime lead.  Zander Mahler provided a huge offensive spark off the bench scoring 14 first half points including three straight 3-point buckets.  Perry scored a whopping 26 points in the second quarter alone.

PCM made a serious push early in the 4th quarter thanks to the shooting of Gavin Gan Gorp.  After struggling in the first half, the sophomore caught fire and hit four 3-pointers in the second half to pull PCM to 60-54 with a little more than 3 minutes to go.  Perry senior Holden Smith provided the dagger after the PCM run, hitting his first 3-pointer of the season to give Perry a 63-54 lead.  Smith followed on the next possession with two clutch free throws and the Bluejays celebrated an emotional win.

Mahler led a balanced attack with 18 points, while Geren Kenney chipped in 14, Owen Myers 12, and both Drake Levan and Smith added 11.  Kenney grabbed 9 rebounds while Levan dished out 7 assists.  Mahler finished with 5 steals.

Perry shot 56% from the floor and an incredible 8-11 from three point land.

Perry is now 2-3 on the season and will travel to Greene County Friday night.  PCM falls to 2-5.