By Shane Merrill | Writer

The drought for the Parker boys basketball team continued last week, as the Pheasants welcomed a red hot Garretson basketball squad to town. Parker had beaten the Blue Dragons in the conference tournament, but have fallen flat in recent weeks and although close, were unable to capitalize when it mattered, falling to the visitors 69-53.

Parker actually held a lead throughout the first quarter, as Carter Robertson and Davin Fuller helped Parker take advantage and go ahead 15-14 after one.

The second quarter proved fatal for the Pheasants, as Garretson took prime advantage of mismatches and open looks, knocking down shot after shot and piling on 21 points to just eight for the Pheasants.

Parker went back to work in the third quarter, rallying all the way back within three points 39-36 midway through, only to see the rally fizzle as the Blue Dragons scored three in a row and led 52-41 after the quarter. 

Parker could find no last gasp of energy in the final frame, as once again Garretson went on a run, rattling off several straight three pointers and pulling back out by 21 and going on to get the win 69-53.

Robertson led the Pheasants with 22 points and seven rebounds while Fuller had 13 points and Cole Jurgens eight. Parker once again suffered from dismal shooting at just 33 percent while Garretson hit at nearly 60 percent from the field. The Pheasants were 12 of 16 from the free throw line.

“They did a nice job attacking all night. We need to get more post touches and also basket cut off of post touches from the perimeter,” said head coach Lance Friesen. “We got to the foul line more which was nice to see,” he concluded.

Up next, with the post season approaching, the Pheasants aimed to stay alive in regional seeding, heading to Bridgewater-Emery.

Cossacks roll Parker

Coming off three straight losses, the Parker boys traveled to conference foe Sioux Valley last Saturday afternoon, and fell to the Cossacks 74-43.

Sioux Valley made the first shot just seconds in, knocking down a three off the tip to start the game. Parker could never respond, giving up 18 points in the first quarter and scoring just eight, with the hosts outscored the Pheasants 15 points in the second quarter.

Parker did managed to keep pace in the third, but never recovered, falling 74-43. 

Carter Robertson led the offensive effort with 13 points for Parker while Davin Fuller had 12 points and 11 rebounds. 

The Pheasants shot just 30 percent from the field.

“They did a nice job of keeping us off balance. We need to take care of the ball better and get to the foul line more,” said coach Lance Friesen.

Up next Parker faced Garretson.

Tied at half, Cougars pounce

The Parker boys’ team welcomed neighboring Viborg-Hurley to town last week, and were desperately looking for a win. The Pheasants, who had been on a two game skid, played an excellent first half, only to see the visiting Cougars pounce in the third quarter, on their way to a 71-43 loss.

Parker opened the game on a 7-2 run and were able to hold on the entire first half as Cole Jurgens kept the Cougars interior in check defensively, while Carter Robertson, Davin Fuller and Colby Olson pushed the Parker lead to 16-13 after one.

The Pheasants rallied out of the gate in the second quarter, pulling ahead five off an Olson layup, but once again the Cougars came right back matching the Pheasants and eventually tying 25-25 at the half. 

The hot shooting continued into the third quarter, as Viborg-Hurley crept ahead 29-26, before Landri Holzwarth drilled a corner three knotting the game at 29 with six minutes to go in the third. 

The Cougars had all the answers from there on out, going on a wild run and putting up 30 points in the quarter, leading by 14 after three and going on to take the win 71-43.

Robertson led the Pheasants with 11 points while Jurgens had nine and Olson eight.

The stats told the whole story, with Parker hitting at a 44 percent clip in the first half, while holding the visitors to just 29 percent. The roles were reversed in the second half, as the Pheasants found the bucket just 33 percent of the time, while V-H hit at an astounding 63 percent clip.

The tough stretch continued for Parker, who traveled to Sioux Valley on Saturday.