Jake Cissell sets new Perryville three-point record

The 2023-24 Perryville boys' basketball season has been a dim one so far.

With only two wins all season, it seems difficult to find plenty of positives, but a bright spot has recently presented itself.

During the Pirate's 78-58 road loss at DeSoto on Friday, Feb. 2, junior Jake Cissell broke the Perryville record for career three-point field goals. His only two baskets against the Dragons were to tie the record at 140 and break it at 141.

To make the moment special, Cissell did it in front of Tim Schaupert, who set it 30 years ago.

From as early as the Woodland Invitational Tournament in late November, this was Cissell's season to shine. He scored 16 points in Perryville's first win against Zalma after amassing 17 points in the first game of the season, both with four three-pointers. The arch has been his home on the court since he started playing in middle school.

“That’s the main part of my game,” Cissel said in November. “You won't see me shoot a whole lot of layups or close shots.”

This season has been a rebuilding year for the Pirates, who have no seniors and only one player in Cissell with previous varsity experience.

“We’re really young but our kids work really hard,” Perryville head coach Justin Dreyer said on Jan. 6.

Cissell has long been the Pirates' main source of offense all season. He also previously scored 21 points in Perryville’s 60-57 loss against New Athens, Ill., in the opening game of the Battle of the Border Shootout on Dec. 16. He scored a career-high 30 points on six three-pointers in Perryville's 77-54 loss against Ste. Genevieve on Dec. 28, in the Bob Sechrest Christmas Tournament in Park Hills, Missouri. He also scored 20 points against Herculaneum on Jan. 17.

Unfortunately, all of Cissell's sharpshooting has not materialized in wins for Perryville (2-18), who have five games remaining in the regular season, including three at home. Dreyer has spent much of his first season back as head coach trying to find a secondary scorer for the Pirates.

“Jake’s had a really good year," Dreyer said on Jan. 17, "but we’re good when everybody else around him is scoring too.”

Perryville will host Crystal City on Tuesday, Feb. 6, and Scott City on Friday, Feb. 9. With another season to go, Cissell will likely make the record virtually unreachable by the time he graduates.