The Community R-6 boys will have to stop beating themselves to end their losing streak.

Community R-6 vs New Bloomfield in Sturgeon Tournament Photo Gallery

Head coach Kody Asquith had that assessment on Thursday following a 70-41 loss to New Bloomfield in the consolation semifinals of the Sturgeon tournament, eliminating the Trojans from the tournament and extending their losing streak to eight games. 

Community (3-14) allowed New Bloomfield (7-11) to score 49 points in the second half, have eight players score and hit 10 3-pointers in the lopsided loss. However, the Trojans only trailed 21-18 at halftime but after a one-point second quarter, which was costly according to Asquith.

“It really killed us tonight,” Asquith said. “To me, that’s an important quarter as it’s midgame and you should be warmed up. I feel like my boys were warmed up, but scoring one point does not help.”

Mason Carroll had a game-high 28 points and hit three 3-pointers to keep the Trojan offense churning at times, but he and everybody else were shut out in the second quarter. Brant Cope had Community’s lone point on a free throw to cap his night at four points and eight rebounds.

After that, Community’s recurring problems of turnovers appeared again, causing the Trojans to fall behind by as much as 20 points. Before the third quarter ended, Community cut its deficit to 46-33 as Carroll had 12 points in the third quarter. Asquith said there didn’t seem to be any difference in New Bloomfield’s defensive intensity, but deficits pile up when the mistakes pile up.

“They had several baskets that were easy because we turned the ball over at half court,” Asquith said. “When you turn the ball over, you lose that opportunity to score the ball.”

New Bloomfield’s Nate and Jake Fuhriman combined for 17 points in the third quarter and gradually worked in players off their bench as the margin kept growing. Nate Fuhriman led the Wildcats with 21 points and five 3-pointers, and Jake Fuhriman had 18 points.

“Those two were definitely the ones that could shoot the ball inside and outside, and they can drive in,” Asquith said. “They were the kids that we told them we needed to look out for. In spurts, we’ve seen (good defense), and then other times, we didn’t quite close out on them like we should have.”

Community has a chance to redeem itself against a district opponent at 7:30 p.m. Monday when its hosts district foe Prairie Home/Bunceton (10-6). The Trojans lost to the Panthers earlier this season 74-40.

“We just got to figure out how to turn the ball over,” Asquith said. “Turnovers have put us out of a lot of games. When you have one, we normally have three, four, five or six in a row. We’ll try anything at this point. We’re at that point where something’s got to work for us, and we’ve just got to figure out what it is.”