John Calipari watches Travis Perry explode for school record 61 points

Before Lyon County tipped off at Dawson Springs, junior guard Travis Perry noticed that Kentucky coach John Calipari not only was at the game but had his picture taken with the Lyon cheerleaders.

Soon, though, the focus was all on Perry, who has a Kentucky scholarship offer, as he poured in a school-record 61 points in a 114-56 win that moves him within 178 points of the all-time scoring record in Kentucky held by King Kelly Coleman.

“About 10 minutes ago me and my buddy were shooting free throws in the gym and I said, ‘We really just had coach Cal watching us play basketball,’” Perry said after Lyon got back to the school after the game. “He (Calipari) had texted me about 4 o’clock saying he was coming if the weather permitted.”

Calipari congratulated Perry after the game and told Perry he was happy to see him break the school record.

“Both him and (assistant) KT (Turner) were happy for me and he even texted me again on the bus ride back home,” Perry, who had a previous high game of 45 points, said.

This has been a big week for Perry. Not only did Calipari see him score a school-record 62 points, but Perry had 34 points Monday in an 81-61 win over University Heights, a team that beat Lyon in the 2nd Region All “A” Classic.

So what was bigger — beating UHA, scoring 61 or having Calipari at his game and even taking a picture with the school cheerleaders?

“I would say kind of all three,” Perry said. “We have played some pretty good ball lately. We played really good against UHA and we didn’t want to lose that game.

“Having coach Cal in the gym, we had to find a way to have fun and put on a good show for him and the crowd.”

Perry had no idea how many points he had. He hit a couple of early 3-pointers, got a couple of offensive rebound cutbacks and scored off steals to get him going.

“I never worry about points. I just wanted to play hard, make the right reads and have a good game,” Perry said. “I didn’t know until after halftime when I started getting told I was getting closer to 60.”

Perry guessed that junior teammate Brady Shoulders had a triple-double in the win based on the way he was feeding the ball to him.

“He was getting the ball to me for 3’s and layups. He was getting rebounds and just chucking the ball to me. He helped me a lot,” Perry said. “I had never even dreamed about a 60-point game. I never even thought about that. It was fun and just a huge blessing.”

Perry also appreciated the way Dawson Springs fan and players reacted to his big game.

“They even stopped the game and their head coach (Mickey Blue) even stopped the game and announced me (for breaking the record). That would not happen everywhere,” Perry said. “They are a great group of kids and are one of my favorite teams to play against. They even compliment you during the game.

“I am really thankful for their fans and how respectful and appreciative they were of what I did. I will always appreciate that.”

Lyon County (24-5) will be off until starting postseason play Tuesday against Livingston Central in the 5th District Tournament.