Travis Perry's Career Night Propels Lyon County past Reed Sheppard, North Laurel

In what may have been the most exciting high school basketball game so far this season, junior guard Travis Perry scored a season-high 45 points to propel the Lyon County Lyons to a 90-83 victory in the Second Chance Shootout over the shorthanded North Laurel Jaguars.

This game had been circled for weeks by many and it certainly did not disappoint. Kentucky signee Reed Sheppard playing against Kentucky target Travis Perry seemed great on paper but looked even better in person.

The Jaguars entered Saturday night’s matchup with a somewhat underwhelming 9-6 record. The Jaguars fell seven spots to #12 in KSR’s latest Kentucky High School Basketball Top 25 Rankings after blowout losses to North Oldham and Ballard in the White, Greer & Maggard Holiday Classic. Lyon County came in with a 13-4 record, coming off victories in four of their last five matchups. The Lyons moved up 11 spots to #7 in KSR’s latest rankings.

North Laurel: Against the Odds

Game planning against Perry and Lyon County would be extremely tough even if you had a completely healthy roster, but it is nearly impossible when you are as short-handed as North Laurel was Saturday night.

Three of North Laurel’s five leading scorers (Ryan Davidson, Gavin Chadwell & Colton Rawlings) were DNPs, forcing Jaguars’ head coach Nate Valentine to play a few Junior Varsity players.

This game started off blistering hot, with both teams combining for 17 points in the first three minutes of game action. Perry in particular was off to a hot start, scoring 12 points in the first quarter. It was discussed prior to the game, but in order for North Laurel to have a shot at winning this game, the Jaguars would need somebody to step up that wasn’t Reed Sheppard. That somebody was sophomore Kole Jervis.

Jervis, straight from the JV squad, had averaged 1.4 PPG in 10 games played this season. After scoring a combined 14 points in those contests, Jervis had scored 11 by halftime. The sophomore stepped up in a big way, knocking down three 3-pointers in the first half. Sheppard contributed 22, and the Jaguars led by a somewhat surprising 50-41 score at the half. North Laurel’s largest lead of the game was 50-38 before a Perry three dropped the deficit down to nine at the break.

North Laurel Vs Lyon County is a much better game than whatever we saw this afternoon in Tuscaloosa. Travis Perry and Reed Sheppard putting on a show right now.

— Steven Peake (@StevenPeakeKSR) January 8, 2023

Travis Perry Takes Over

After scoring a modest 18 points at the break, Perry absolutely took over the second half.

Perry came out firing, scoring eight points in the first six minutes of play in the third quarter. An and-one by junior Brady Shoulders made this a three-point game with 1:36 remaining in the third.

The final minute of the third quarter was pure insanity. After Perry led an 11-0 rally to tie the game at 61, Sheppard followed up a missed three with an insane putback dunk, showing all of Big Blue Nation what they’re getting with this guy.

REED SHEPPARD ARE YOU SERIOUS!!!! @reed_sheppard @KySportsRadio #BBN

#7 Lyon 66 | #12 N Laurel 66 | End of 3rd pic.twitter.com/NWcysehkPd

— Daniel Hager (@DanielHagerKSR) January 8, 2023

Travis Perry immediately responded with another three-pointer which set the Lexington Catholic gym ablaze. North Laurel’s Kyler Elza forced a three up at the buzzer that of coursed banked in, sending this one to the fourth quarter knotted up at 66.

Perry continued his domination in the fourth quarter, scoring his 42nd point of the night with 5:35 remaining in the fourth. Another and-one from Shoulders with 44 seconds remaining sealed the deal on this one, pushing the Lyon lead up to 10 points. The Lyons dribbled the clock out and finished on top 90-83, improving to 14-4 on the season. With yet another tough loss, the North Laurel Jaguars fall to 9-7.

Mutual Respect Between Perry & Sheppard

Perry and Sheppard put on an absolute show for those in attendance Saturday night.

Perry finished with a season-high 45 points on 10-16 shooting from three. Sheppard finished with a triple-double for the Jaguars, pouring in 32 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds. Extremely high-level basketball from these two.

“[Reed] texted me before the game and said good luck. He said it was going to be fun,” Perry said after the game. “Playing against a player of that caliber and a team like that is fun for us. It’s not something you get all the time.”

“[Perry]’s a great, great player and a great scorer. Their offense is run through him, and they have some great plays to get him open,” Sheppard added after the tough loss. “When he’s open, he doesn’t miss. It’s super hard to play against him.”

Lyon County looks to continue its winning ways against University Heights on Tuesday. North Laurel looks to regroup, heal up, and take on Mount St. Joseph (Baltimore) in the Spalding Hoophall Classic next Sunday.