It certainly wasn’t a basketball game in which both teams ran up and down the floor.

No, Friday night’s Interstate Eight Conference opener featuring LaSalle-Peru and Morris was more of a throwback. It wasn’t quite Dean Smith with the four corners, as neither team deliberately stalled. However, both clubs were methodical in their offensive schemes and stingy on the defensive end. When it was all over, LaSalle-Peru came away with a 29-23 win.

With such little scoring, each possession carried a greater significance. Morris (1-3, 0-1) took its only lead of the game, 23-22, with 4:42 to play in the fourth on a 3-pointer by Landon Norris. L-P (4-1, 1-0) clamped down on its defense after that and Morris did not score again. The Cavaliers took a 24-23 lead when Marion Persich (9 points, 5 rebounds) put back his own miss with 4:25 left. After a defensive stop, L-P got a basket by Braylin Bond (8 points) to go ahead 26-23.

With :32.1 remaining, LaSalle-Peru’s Jameson Hill made 1 of 2 free throws for a 27-23 lead, making it a two-possession game. After a Morris turnover, Hill was fouled again, this time making both shots to provide the final margin.

“I wasn’t really nervous shooting those free throws,” Hill said. “We shoot them all the time in practice, usually after drills or sprints when we are tired like we will be in a game.

“A game like this is fun, but with the slow pace, it’s kind of nerve-wracking because every possession matters so much. It makes a four-point lead feel like 10. Overall, we are working well together. A lot of the starters played together last year, so it’s more fine-tuning right now instead of learning new things.”

LaSalle-Peru got a 3-pointer by Bond to start the scoring in the first quarter before a basket by Persich made it 5-0. Hayden MacDonald (team-high 9 points) scored Morris’ lone basket of the first quarter with 1:30 left and the Cavaliers took a 5-2 lead into the second. The scoring remained scant in the second, with L-P taking an 11-7 lead into halftime.

“We knew coming in that we would have to make every possession count,” L-P coach John Senica said. “We settled for too many 3-point attempts in the first half and didn’t capitalize on turnovers. We did better with that in the second half and were able to work the ball for the best shot.

“Jameson hit some big free throws at the end for us, and everyone did a great job of taking care of the ball.”

Morris opened the second half with a 3-pointer by RJ Kennedy (3 points, game-high 7 rebounds) to make it 11-10. With the score 16-14 after a basket by MacDonald, Persich scored on a putback for an 18-14 lead before teammate Erik Sotello made a free throw to give L-P its biggest lead at 19-14. Morris’ Brycen Johnson countered with a 3-pointer off an assist from Luis Loza, and Persich made a free throw with :06.3 remaining in the third to give the Cavaliers a 20-17 lead that they took into the fourth quarter.

Morris got a free throw from MacDonald to start the fourth before Norris scored on a drive to tie it with 6:42 left. Persich scored on a putback with 5:04 left, then Norris hit a 3 from the top of the key to put Morris ahead 23-20.

“Our defense was very good tonight,” Morris coach Joe Blumberg said. “It may not have been the most exciting or entertaining to watch, but it gave us the best chance to win. With only five practices with the full team, we had to control the pace. Luis Loza was all over the floor on defense, and our post defenders had a great effort.

“Hayden MacDonald was limited in practice this week, but he’s going to have to score some for us, and it was good to see him do that tonight. I think that we expended so much energy on the defensive end that it impacted our offense.”

In the girls’ game played before the boys, Morris scored a 46-23 win behind 20 points and 11 rebounds from Lily Hansen and 10 points and five steals from Cami Pfeifer. L-P was led by eight points by Brianna Ruppert.