Perry boys basketball: Jake Cubbison surging up scoring charts for Pirates

Jan. 21—It's been a whirlwind past month for Perry senior Jake Cubbison. During the final week of Christmas break, Cubbison and the Pirates were in Florida for a three-game showcase.

Then in their first game back in Ohio against Orange on Jan. 7, he became the fifth player in Perry boys history to reach 1,000 points. But the history didn't stop there for Cubbison.

In the next game against Riverside, Cubbison passed Drew Schiano and his brother Nate to move into third all-time. He currently sits at 1,137 points, 30 behind Jackson Burdyshaw for second.

Even though he has a chance to reach the all-time scoring mark, held by Mike Patrick at 1,557, Cubbison's attention is on the remainder of the season as the playoffs draw near.

Jake Cubbison scores the 1000th point of his Perry career tonight at Orange! Congrats to Jake on the amazing accomplishment and to the Pirates on gritting out a tough CVC road win! Go Pirates! pic.twitter.com/jFdW6dGzBS

— Perry Pirates (@Perry_Pirates) January 8, 2023

"I'm still trying to get over hitting the 1,000 points," Cubbison said. "Now that I'm up there with my brother, it's great and I give a lot of credit to my dad because I wouldn't be here without him. But now the focus shifts to winning games and turning that into a deep playoff run."

A three-year starter on varsity, Cubbison also saw time as a freshman. This season, Cubbison is averaging 20.7 points per game.

The scoring role is something that he has grown accustomed to and now his name will be on the walls of Perry's gymnasium forever.

"Since my eighth-grade year my goal for high school was to hit that mark," Cubbison said. "And to finally get it is a dream come true. The more I think about it it's amazing. I can show my friends and family in the future what I was able to do here at Perry."

Coach Al Iacofano has seen Cubbison develop from a fresh-faced freshman into a leader both on and off the court for his teammates. Since Cubbison came into the program, he has had the ability to take control of a game.

While Cubbison has always had the scoring ability, it's taken time for him to become a leader. He now helps his teammates get to the right spot on sets. Iacofano has been happy to see him mature.

If my math is correct, I think this bucket makes Jake Cubbison the third leading scorer in @Perry_Pirates history #NHBasketball pic.twitter.com/jgAijlB0DN

— Ben Hercik (@BHercikNH) January 11, 2023

"Jake's come such a long way since his freshman season," Iacofano said. "He was able to work his way into that starting lineup on a talented team. He's gotten a lot stronger and that has helped him at both ends of the floor. He doesn't get flustered anymore when there are different defenses from teams. Whatever teams do he's gone past that and focusing on his game. He's also improved his body language where you can't really tell what kind of night he's having."

One thing that's helped Cubbison is his familiarity with his teammates. He and Brayden Richards were the returning starters from a season ago, and several role players from the past two seasons have entered the starting lineup and taken on larger roles.

Iacofano has seen Cubbison develop into a mentor for the new faces. He's helped the sophomores come into their roles on the court.

Behind Cubbison's efforts, the Pirates are 12-2 with a seven-game winning streak. Perry is also alone at the top of the CVC Lake Division as they look for its third straight division title.

The past two seasons, Cubbison has had talented senior classes to learn from. He learned from players such as Jayden Anderson and Javin Richards on how to lead.

Cubbison knows this year's underclassmen are looking to him for advice and how to play in Perry's style of basketball.

"In years past I've had that leader role. But now as a senior I feel that I need to do even more as a leader for everyone," Cubbison said. "All of us have had similar roles since middle school. We click together well and the younger guys are finding out where they fit into that as well and we're seeing it translate into results."

Cubbison looks to continue his trek up the Perry scoring ladder when he and the Pirates host Geneva on Jan. 24.