On Friday night, in his first collegiate start, Perry dribbled behind his back, drove left and kissed a layup high off the glass with 0.4 seconds remaining, lifting No. 21 Miami to a 69-67 victory over Western Michigan at Read Fieldhouse.
The basket capped a 16-6 closing run over the final 5:49 and kept Miami unbeaten at 29-0 overall and 16-0 in Mid-American Conference play — the only undefeated team remaining in Division I.
“Oh, for sure — it’s not even close,” Perry said when asked where the shot ranked in his career. “Especially my first college start. … To remain undefeated. Definitely the biggest shot so far.”
Perry finished with 14 points, including the final two that preserved Miami’s historic march toward March.
Peter Suder led the RedHawks with 18 points, while Almar Atlason added 16 and Eian Elmer scored 10. Jayden Brewer paced Western Michigan (10-19, 4-12 MAC) with 19.
But this night belonged to Perry, a Lakota East product thrust into the starting lineup with point guard Luke Skaljac sidelined.
“I really still thought he was going to play,” Perry said of Skaljac, who is expected to return to the lineup next week according to Miami coach Travis Steele.
“So I kind of just stayed me. I didn’t really put it in my mind until they told me. … In pre-walkthroughs they told me I was starting. I ain’t gonna lie — my heart beat a little bit. It kind of raced. Just to have that start in this big moment in the season was kind of crazy, surreal for me. But to have it and to win it — it’s just big time for me.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Western Michigan tied the game at 67 on a putback with 12 seconds remaining. After a timeout, Steele put the ball in Perry’s hands.
“He said, ‘Trey, I want you to get this play,’” Perry said. “He put the ball in my hands and it was kind of just on me. I just appreciate the confidence he had in me and the confidence that the players had in me to get the job done.”
Perry isolated at the top, rocked the ball behind his back and attacked to his left — a move familiar to those who have watched him since high school.
It looked textbook Perry.
“I just felt like it was there,” Perry said. “I kind of wish I got to two feet, but I got to one and I made the layup. So I can’t really complain because it went in.”
Miami trailed 30-26 at halftime after Western Michigan opened the game on an 8-2 burst. The RedHawks battled throughout the second half, tying the score at 49 on Suder’s steal and layup with 11:02 remaining.
Atlason’s 3 from the left corner and a driving three-point play cut the deficit to one at 63-62. A push shot by Elmer and a hook from Woolfolk gave Miami a 66-65 lead with 1:45 left.
After Elmer’s free throw made it 67-65, Western Michigan answered to set the stage for Perry’s final drive.
The win marked Miami’s first 16-0 start in conference play in program history and extended the RedHawks’ road winning streak to 14 games overall — 13 in a single season, both school records. With 29 victories, Miami surpassed last year’s program-best 25 wins.
The RedHawks also became just the fourth Division I team this century to enter March undefeated — joining Wichita State (2013-14), Kentucky (2014-15) and Gonzaga (2020-21).
And for Perry, the night didn’t end with the final buzzer.
“To be 1,000 percent honest with you, the reason why I delayed this call was because I was responding to texts,” he said with a laugh. “It’s important to me to respond to every last one of them. I just felt like that’s what I wish I did when I was texting people growing up.
“It’s special. But I know we’re not done. We’ve got to keep going.”
NEXT GAME
Who: Toledo at Miami
When: 7 p.m., Tuesday
TV: ESPN+
Radio: 980-AM, 1450-AM, 101.5-FM
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