Perdomo's 32 help Brentwood defeat Floyd
Brentwood's Eric Perdomo hits a jumper off the glass. Brentwood defeated William Floyd 78-73. (Jan. 17, 2012) Credit: Joseph D. Sullivan
As Eric Perdomo raced upcourt with the ball and his Brentwood team clinging to a two-point lead with less than two minutes remaining, it seemed like a good time to kill some clock.
Instead, Perdomo found himself open on the left side of the court and fired up a three-pointer. On the right side of the court, an animated Brentwood coach Anthony Jimenez watched in horror, about to take out his frustration on a nearby assistant coach. Then the shot hit the bottom of the net and the Indians were on top of the world.
With Perdomo scoring 14 of his game-high 32 points in the fourth quarter, host Brentwood rallied to defeat Floyd, 78-73, Tuesday in an action-packed Suffolk League I contest that left both teams at 5-1 and in a three-way tie for first with Longwood.
"I was just about to tell my assistant, 'I may have to hurt him,' " Jimenez cracked, playfully hugging Perdomo near midcourt minutes after the 5-10 senior played the game of his life. "But that's what defines us. We have a great deal of bravado, and sometimes that carries you a long way."
It certainly wasn't false bravado, not with the way Perdomo played in helping the Indians erase a 61-56 deficit entering the final period.
"I was wide open and I just had a feeling," Perdomo said, a bit sheepishly as if he knew if he hadn't hit the shot and his team lost, he probably would be getting a stern lecture instead of a hug from Jimenez.
The combination of Perdomo's marksmanship and Brentwood's relentless all-court man-to-man pressure defense helped the Indians outscore the Colonials 22-12 in the fourth quarter and offset terrific games by Anthony White (26 points) and LaShon Washington (23 points).
Floyd built its lead to 69-63 with 4:49 left, but then had trouble getting good shots and went scoreless for the next 3:04 while Brentwood scored 11 straight points. Perdomo had seven of them, including that daring trey that put the Indians ahead at 74-69 with 1:45 left.
Floyd's Malik Dennis (11 points off the bench) hit two free throws and White converted a putback that cut it to 74-73 with 45 seconds left. Kenley Rhoden scored inside for a three-point lead and Floyd missed two threes under duress before Perdomo's breakaway beat the buzzer for the final score.
"We knew we had to play our defense to get turnovers," Perdomo said. "That's what our offense is all about."
That plus a touch of bravado. Bravo!
