Perry’s on-ball defense was the story of the game Dec. 19 against Riverside. When the Pirates were on-ball and forced turnovers, their offense got rolling. A late run and a dunk by Vince Tomasic secured the 69-57 for the Pirates. Perry pushed its record to 3-1 while Riverside fell to the inverse. Riverside was the aggressor early, driving into the lane and for layups. Kyle Harden and Colin Durkin were the main distributors, and they combined for eight assists. Once Perry turned up its defensive intensity, the lanes for the Beavers shriveled and forced them to work from beyond the arc. Perry then converted transition buckets and used that to their advantage. “They (Riverside) have a lot of lights-out shooters,” the Pirates’ Derreon Malone said. “We know that so many of them are knock-down guys. So we needed to not give them a lot of space. We had to be big on-ball and limit their good looks.” Perry started the second quarter with a 10-4 run to take the lead. Malone was the catalyst with seven of his 17 points in the frame. He scored six points in the second half, and Tomasic picked up the scoring role in his place. Tomasic had a quiet first half with eight points but poured in 18 in the second half to finish with a game-high 26. Both players used the lane for buckets for a majority of their points — they only had one 3-pointer between them. Having played together for most of their lives, the pair have learned how to communicate if it’s an off night for the other. “Against Harvey, I was off and frustrated, but Derreon steps up,” Tomasic said. “He had 34 against them. We know that if one of us isn’t having the best night, the other is right there to step up. We know what to do when.” Riverside struck back at the start of the third quarter, with an 11-2 run to retake the lead. In that stretch, Perry didn’t force a turnover. Out of a Perry timeout, the Pirates focused heavy on the ball, and a turnover on the ensuing possession pushed Perry back to the lead. Perry forced 16 turnovers in the contest Coach Al Iacofano said that the Pirates can build on this victory. “I wish I could tell you how we manufactured those runs,” Iacofano said. “Making shots helped and we just missed some in the first. We stayed disciplined and we had some good looks with them. That’s an area we still need to improve on. We’re still in the early stages of where we’re at as a team. We were able to get them out of sorts late and that helped.” The Beavers didn’t go away despite the runs. They trailed by one going to the fourth and were down four with just under three minutes left. Tomasic was confident in the team’s ability to remain calm. “We just know all our play styles,” Tomasic said. “We focus on the chemistry and even though one of our pieces is new here, we are able to work on that chemistry. We’ve built it and know our strengths and weaknesses.” Out of the Riverside timeout, that’s when the Pirates set sail. An 11-3 run closed the game in their favor. One of the early sparks came from sophomore Kaden Brewster. He hit a big 3-pointer with just over two minutes left and followed that up with a steal on the next possession and got the ball up court to Tomasic who drew the foul. Iacofano has been impressed with the early impact from Brewster off the bench has been a major addition to the team off the bench as he added 12 points. “He’s huge, he’s a gamer,” Iacofano said. “While he’s young in his varsity experience, he can shoot the lights out. He’s in the gym non-stop getting shots up. It’s no surprise that he’s as efficient as he was from deep. It’s what he brings to the table and knows basketball well.” Riverside had Harden as the leading scorer with 14 points, followed by Durken with 13 and Joey Durdella with 10. Riverside looks to snap a three-game skid when it hosts Walsh Jesuit on Dec. 27. Perry has one more game before the Christmas break, as it hosts Chagrin Falls on Dec. 21.