Courtwarming is for a variety of people, and the Paris boys’ game on that night was for everybody on its roster.

Community R-6 at Paris Photo Gallery

The Coyotes had 10 players score to win their Courtwarming game 55-25 over Community R-6 on Friday. Paris finished with 15 steals and had at least 11 assists. 

Paris head coach Jeremy Skinner said the excitement for Courtwarming might have affected the team’s shooting in the first half, leading 24-10 at halftime, but there was a big difference just in the third quarter. The Coyotes (6-11) scored 23 points in that eight minutes, and all 10 of its scorers contributed in that frame as well.

“We worked on pushing the ball in practice,” Skinner said. “We got quite a few runouts so we’re going to look to try to keep doing that.”

Skinner said Paris didn’t knock down free throws or put back misses early but was glad the team could convert in transition later in the game. Zeek Turner led with nine points off the bench, Cayden Poddany had eight points and seven rebounds, Luke Ensor finished with eight points, Brad Skinner had seven points and eight rebounds, and Tim Woodward also had seven points.

Paris was at the line frequently early after blowing past Community’s defenders. The Coyotes then sped past the Trojans (3-13) in the second half, and Community head coach Kody Asquith said his team was beaten like that all game.

“We were getting beat down the floor and getting beat off the dribble,” Asquith said. “The way the boys were making up for it was getting some fouls instead of moving their feet to try and cut the ball off or stop the ball from going down the other end of the floor.”

Asquith said he didn’t have two players available to make his already young roster smaller. KaTavyn Wheeler led the Trojans with 10 points and three steals, Brett Beamer had six points on two 3-pointers, and Rett Curtis finished with four points, 13 rebounds and two blocks. 

Skinner said he “cycled guys through” and that “kept the energy up.”

“It was the speed and depth and being able to wear them down and just keep going,” Skinner said. “We could send a whole new line in there and be fine.”

The Coyotes had 25 points come from their bench and had every one of them make plays that turned defense into offense. Logan Mitchell had five points but four rebounds and three steals. Turner had four rebounds and two steals to go with his scoring, which was expected given the respective roster situations.

“Coach (Collin Huffman) and I were talking before the game and said we wouldn’t be surprised if Turner had double digits this game coming off the bench,” Skinner said. “This was a game we felt like he could give us runouts, and he did. That type of game suits him and his game.”

The victory makes the third straight for Paris while Community lost its third straight. The Trojans have failed to reach 30 points in all three losses, and Asquith said Friday ended up as not being a good matchup to get back on track.

“I want to say in a slump, but the slump has lasted a little longer than what we hoped,” Asquith said. “Defensively, they’re strong and physical. We struggled getting the ball up the floor tonight. We had a couple decent looks, but shots weren’t quite falling and a lot of turnovers tonight.”

Community and Paris each play in the Sturgeon Tournament this week as the calendar will turn to February, which is the last month of the regular season and the month that includes districts. Asquith said the team wants to focus on being at its best before districts begin.

“The postseason is really where it starts to count,” Asquith said. “We’re going to focus on what’s in front of us, but we’re also going to look at the bigger picture at the end.”

Even in the four losses Paris had before this three-game stretch, three of them were decided by four points or less and the most the Coyotes allowed was 41 points. Skinner said defense has been “the main reason” in the Paris wins or tight losses since Christmas break and wants to “hang our hat” on that aspect of the team. Offense needs to catch up to that defense.

“We’re trying to go back to basics and work on just the basic fundamentals of putting the ball in the hole,” Skinner said. “Basic moves and try not to get too fancy. See if that pays off hopefully.”