YC starts slow, falls to Parker in crucial game

A slow first half proved too much for Yuma Catholic to come back from.

The Shamrocks fell to Parker 59-42 at home Friday night.

Parker took a 32-13 lead into halftime after going on a 16-5 run in the second quarter.

“We didn't come out as hot as we expected to come out in the first half,” freshman forward Matt Pistone said. “We got down and couldn't really come back from it.”

The Shamrocks have just two regular season games left, making this game against Parker extra important, YC coach Brooks Neumann said. YC entered the game in the No. 15 spot in Division IV, according to the AIA website.

“We're watching the power points every day and if we can steal a game — which we thought we had a chance — it would've really boosted us up,” Neumann said. “I think we're pretty much going to be in, but you want to get as high as you can so you don't have to play a really good team in the first or second round. So that's what our goal is.”

YC (10-6) outscored the Broncs 12-11 in the third quarter, but still trailed Parker 43-25 heading into the fourth.

The Shamrocks kept the pace with Parker (15-1), with each team scoring 12 in the final quarter. But it just wasn't enough.

Pistone was the lone bright spot for YC, picking up a double-double in the game. Pistone finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds, including two 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.

“The only guy that really played well in the first half, I thought, was Matt Pistone,” Neumann said. “He played like a man tonight. I'm really pleased with the way he played tonight.”

Ten of Pistone's points came in the first half, making him the only Shamrock to hit a shot from outside the arc.

“We just didn't have the momentum to all score,” Pistone said. “We weren't penetrating very well. Every once in awhile we would penetrate and kick it out and hit the shot — we just weren't able to do that the entire time.”

Neumann said that the Shamrocks did achieve one of the things they set out to do: limit the scoring of Parker's Michael Carter Jr. YC held Carter to 11 points in the game.

“That was our goal because last time we played them, he had 25 points — he was their main guy,” Neumann said. “I thought we did a really nice job against him and he's a really good player. He's got good quickness. But No. 12 (Roman Leon) killed us and their outside shooting is good. Their big guys can step out and shoot it.”

The Shamrocks will be back in action at 7 p.m. Tuesday when they host Salome.

Neumann said he hopes the next few days of practice will help correct this game's mistakes.

“I thought Parker did a real good job of pressuring the wings,” he said. “I thought that our wing guys weren't working hard enough to get open early in the game. In the second half, I thought that we really improved on that. That's something we're going to go over in practice.”

Erin Redmond can be reached at eredmond@yumasun.com or at 539-6880. Find her on Facebook at facebook.com/YSErinRedmond.