The Paris boys feel like better basketball is in their future this season.

Paris vs Sturgeon in Sturgeon Tournament Photo Gallery

The Coyotes lost 41-31 to Sturgeon on Thursday in the Sturgeon tournament consolation semifinals despite leading 15-13 at halftime. Paris is eliminated from the tournament and will have to wait until 7:30 p.m. Thursday to play at Lewis and Clark Conference foe Harrisburg (10-8).

Head coach Jeremy Skinner said the Coyotes (4-13) want to get back on the court after noticing some positive aspects amongst a down offensive night. Paris scored single digits in two quarters, including two in the first and five in the third when Sturgeon (6-11) took a 27-20 lead into the fourth.

“We got quite a few good looks in the first quarter, but they were just all rushed,” Skinner said. “We tried to force them up there really quick and so we missed them.”

Sturgeon struggled scoring the ball as well until it had a couple of 3-pointers fall in a 14-point third quarter. The Bulldogs led 5-2 after the first quarter but fell behind when Skinner saw his offense executing like he wanted, with passes being made to cutting Coyotes for easy layups.

“We did a good job of running our offense for the most part,” Skinner said. “At times, we weren’t patient enough and then forced it up too quick. They’re still learning when to shoot and when to make that next pass and screen. We haven’t learned to pass up a decent shot for a good shot. As soon as we see the rim, we feel like we need to shoot.”

Cayden Poddany stood out to Skinner on both ends of the floor. The sophomore finished with a game-high 16 points, creating some shots in the second quarter for nine points in that eight minutes. Isaac Bolles didn’t lead Sturgeon in scoring as he typically does because of the defensive work of Poddany, Skinner said, as Bolles had five points when he usually averages 20 points.

“This was his best game offensively for him this year,” Skinner said. “He’s starting to come around and be more aggressive by taking it to the hole. He tries to overthink sometimes and does multiple moves when he doesn’t have to instead of just being athletic and finishing at the rim like he needs to. He did a better job of that.”

Sturgeon adjusted to not having Bolles’ production by having Connor Lawson lead with 14 points, and Ethan Benskin adding eight points, including two 3-pointers in the second half. 

Skinner said the rebounding caught up to Paris since he recalled several possessions where the Bulldogs pulled down multiple offensive rebounds, which are magnified in a close game.

“There was one possession where Andre (Miller) was trying to box out two guys and everybody else was standing around watching,” Skinner said. “We just got to do better on that.”

Walter Rucker also returned for the Coyotes recently, scoring 30 points in his first game to help Paris win 52-34 at Community on Friday. Rucker had six points and seven rebounds against Sturgeon.

“I saw a lot of good stuff from them tonight,” Skinner said. “Even though we did lose, I wasn’t terribly displeased. Sometimes, shots just don’t fall.”