With one of the most successful sports seasons in Perry’s history, the basketball team is destined to go down in school history. After finishing up the regular season with a 22-4 record and finalizing a number 4 seed in the state tournament, the Pumas were on their way to an outstanding post-season. Their eventual semi-final postseason run set yet another record; an occurring trend for an outstanding season.

In fact, nearly every aspect of this year’s season beat previous ones.

The 2011-2012 season, which was led by now Chandler coach Mark Nold, may be the only comparable sports season.

That season set the precedent for basketball, only to be ousted two years later. While being led by players such as Desmond Howard (the eldest of the 3 Howard brothers) and Ryan Richardson, the team managed a 21-9 record, earning them a number 23 playoff spot. Their postseason run was cut short in the quarterfinals by Pinnacle, a team that eventually made it to the championship.

A similar playoff for both teams.

Despite their similarities, this year’s team ousted the 2011-12 in nearly every category, including points per game, points against, and shooting percentage. The change in roster also proved to be a winning factor as a total of six underclassmen were on varsity, including regular starters Bryce Fisher and Markus Howard. Fisher, a sophomore, earned honorable mention on the Division I Section II All-Section Team, along with senior Geoffrey Vredevoogd. Fisher’s outstanding defense earned him the award, as he took on the state’s top scorers throughout the season.

Freshman Markus Howard led the charge for the underclassmen by earning an incredible amount of after-season awards. By achieving the state’s highest award of the Arizona Republic All-State Team, Howard was able to participate in the photoshoot for the newspaper.

“The photoshoot was really cool, I was able to hang out with some of the state’s best,” Howard stated, “It really made me want to keep working for the same thing.”

Markus’s other accolades include the Arizona Tribune Chandler All-District Player of the Year,  ACBA All-Star Underclassmen Team and first team Division I Section II All-Section Team. Recently, Markus was also named to the Second Team Freshman All-American Team by MaxPreps.

Likewise, older brother Jordan Howard also earned his own decorations, including a spot on the ACBA All-State Upperclassmen Team. Jordan’s exceptional grades obtained him a position on the First Team All Academic Team with a 4.3 GPA.

In only his second year at Perry, head coach Joseph Babinski earned the state’s coaching award, the Arizona Republic All-State Big School Coach of the Year; an award that sums up the season.