‘It’s been a really rough time’: CVCA’s Darryn Peterson plays while mourning loss of grandmother
Peterson #Peterson
LAWRENCE TWP. — Looking to ease his own pain after the loss of his grandmother, Darryn Peterson turned to basketball Friday night as a way to cope.
The All-Ohio sophomore from CVCA delivered his usual all-around brilliance. But this was by no means an easy night for him on the court in a 65-32 PAC-7 win at Northwest.
“I wasn’t sure if I was going to play tonight,” Peterson said.
Peterson and his family are still mourning the recent loss of his grandmother. His father, Darryl Peterson, an assistant coach for the Royals, did not attend the game. Darryn was still emotional with tears in his eyes while meeting with press after the game.
“It’s been a really rough time,” he said. “My dad decided to stay home. I thought it might help me get my mind off of things to come out and try to play tonight. It was still very difficult.”
The sadness weighing on Peterson was not visible while he was on the court. The 6-foot-5 wing scored 24 points, putting together an impressive highlight reel of dunks for CVCA. Two came off the dribble and at the rim. The third and perhaps most impressive came after a Royal shot drew front iron and Peterson leaped, caught the rebound and slammed it in one smooth motion.
“He’s been dealing with a really difficult loss in his family after the passing of his grandmother,” CVCA head coach Matt Futch said. “He was very close to her and we knew this was really weighing on his whole family emotionally. We were kind of surprised when he told us that he wanted to play and the team really rallied behind him.”
Northwest did an effective job of guarding Peterson in the halfcourt during the first two quarters. Peterson scored the bulk of his 12 first-half points in transition and from the foul line. He also did a nice job of finding open teammates while helping the Royals build up a 36-11 halftime advantage.
“I know it took him some time to adjust early,” Futch said. “Things were weighing on him. He had every right to be with his family and not on the court tonight. Northwest did a great job of scheming for him as well. He did a great job of overcoming all of that. He was a great distributor and got the rest of the team some really good looks.”
Peterson also made an impact on the defensive end. He led the team with seven rebounds and also blocked two shots.
“That’s just who he is,” Futch said. “I’ve been around a lot of good players but he is a really special player. He is also a great young man off the court. He has tremendous character.”
Junior Hayden Grant added 10 points and five rebounds for CVCA.
For Northwest, shooting woes helped negate a great early showing on defense. Northwest held the Royals to just 10 points in the first quarter but struggled to score on the offensive end.
Chase Badger and Caleb Hyrne led Northwest with seven points each Friday. Isaac LaFay also contributed five rebounds for Northwest.
“I was really happy with our effort on defense when we came out,” Northwest head coach Mike Lower said. “The kids tried to execute the game plan. We played with great defensive intensity. We just couldn’t keep pace with them on offense. We shot around 15% from the field in the first half and that opened up the transition game for them. Once they get that going, they are tough to stop.”
The difficulties of defending Peterson wore on Northwest over the course of the game.
“We saw him twice last year and he is just a tough assignment,” Lower said. “He’s a willing passer on top of everything else and that only adds to the difficulty. He can do it all. He’s just a really special player.”
Reach Cliff at cliff.hickman@cantonrep.com
On Twitter: @chickmanREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: ‘It’s been a really rough time’: CVCA’s Darryn Peterson plays while mourning loss of grandmother