For the last couple of months on and off the shimmering surface of the Perry basketball court, the talented young men of this season’s team have been working hard to impress not only those looking at them from the stands, but to impress themselves as well. For all of the obstacles and expectations Perry’s basketball team has had to live up to this season, the hard work and constant grind has not gone to waste.

With the end of the regular season approaching fast on Feb 11 at a home game against Dobson, the Pumas hold an impressive record for away games, currently standing at 5-2. As for home games, wins and losses remain neutral with a record of 3-3. However, with a win percentage of .556, the Pumas overall wins, including neutral games, triumph their losses with a noteworthy record of 10-8, compared to last season where at Jan 21 their record stood at 19-3. Though the team’s scoreboard has noticeably been altered as a result of the departure of last year’s main-player Markus Howard and other graduating members of the team, their moral and desire to work hard for success has not changed at all.

Season goals are a big factor that pushes players to succeed on and off the court, and with the guys having beat Mesa, their season rivals, 67 – 58 on their home game on Dec 15, their level of achievement and motivation has never been higher. “Beating Mesa felt really good,” senior Kyle Van Haren stated. “They’ve beat a lot of teams we couldn’t beat, so it just shows we can win and can play on their level.”

However, putting up points on the scoreboard is not the only thing that matters when driving the Pumas to be better athletes; it’s the brotherhood and teamwork that falls into place when the ball is laid up for a couple of points, or when you need a teammate to fall back on. “We’ve definitely grown as a team,” senior Wyatt Stoltzfus added. “We’re kind of like a band of brothers and just play well together.” Coach Joe Babinski added that even though the team is young with experience, “we talk about just getting better everyday.”

The Pumas hope to rank in the top 8 for playoff the predictions this year. Among the team members excited to go deep this year, senior Jordan Harris is no exception. “We’re very excited for playoffs,” Harris said. “We’ve got a lot of people doubting us so we’re definitely looking to go out and surprise some people.” Standing at #9 for playoff predictions as of Jan 22, the Pumas are painfully close to reaching their goal.

Come out and support the Pumas on Friday, Feb 5 at 7:00 pm in the Perry gym to come watch the most exciting rivalry game this season against Basha.