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Milton belts Parker

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Parker vs. Milton Boys Basketball

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JANESVILLE — Ryan Masterson looks at his Janesville Parker High School boys basketball team as a glass not half full but only a quarter full.

The first-year head coach estimated that his Vikings played all-out for only about a quarter of their season-opening 70-54 nonconference loss to Milton in the Vikings’ gym Tuesday night.

“I told our kids we’re going to have to play a solid 32 minutes every time out,” Masterson said. “I think today was maybe eight. The whole game. We came out there in the second half for a stretch and gave them some trouble.

“If we had done that for the whole game, we could have been right there. It took us a while to get going for some reason.”

There were sparks in the fourth quarter for the Vikings, who trailed 35-22 at halftime and 51-28 at the end of three quarters.

The Vikings then used a flurry of three-pointers to cut the final margin to 16 points.

“Parker hit some big shots,” Milton coach Brian Hammil said. “They launch them up there and bang, they hit three in a row while we’re shooting free throws.”

Jordan Thompson, one of three Parker players to score 11 points, led the three-point barrage with three, while Danny Husen added two. Four other Vikings had one each.

“Their coach (Brian Hammil) said they were impressed that we didn’t give up and kept coming at them,” Masterson said. “That’s what I’m trying to instill in them, that’s what we’re going to do.”

The Red Hawks fended off Parker’s comeback bid by hitting free throws in the foul-filled fourth quarter. Milton hit 34 of 44 free throws in the game, led by junior Brandon Knutson’s 15-of-17 performance en route to 22 points.

Milton’s 6-foot-6 senior, Mason Walters, led all scorers with 25 points.

“We had to take away the post, and we didn’t do that,” Masterson said. “The second half we did a little better, but we were playing aggressively, man-to-man full-court.”

Hammil said Knutson and Walters would have to get some help when the Red Hawks enter Badger Conference play.

“(Knutson and Walters) will have to make plays,” Hammil said. “We do have other players that can make plays, but they have to step up a little bit more than they did tonight.”

“We’ve got a lot of inexperienced kids right now, but we got a win on the road,” Hammil said. “I would like to see us take care of the ball a little bit better at the end, but the game got kind of rough.”

Junior guard Cody Simonson had 11 points for Parker, as did sophomore forward Creed Knutson, who came off the bench to hit double figures.

MILTON 70, PARKER 54

Milton (70)—B. Knutson, 3-15-22; Richards, 0-4-4; Farnsworth, 0-2-2; McCann Jr., 1-2-4; Ganz, 1-2-4; Walters, 8-6-25; McCarthy, 0-1-1; Ziegler, 1-0-2; Hammon, 2-0-4; Trewyn, 0-2-2. Totals: 16-34-70.

Parker (54)—Simonson, 5-0-11; Moe, 0-2-2; Thompson, 4-0-11; Teubert, 1-1-3; Husen, 2-0-6; J. Knutson, 3-0-7; Anderson, 1-0-3; C. Knutson, 4-2-11. Totals: 20-5-54.

Milton 16 19 16 19--70

Janesville Parker 13 9 6 26—54

Three-point goals—Milton 4 (Knutson, Walters 3), Parker 9 (Simonson, Thompson 3, J. Knutson, Anderson, Husen 2, C. Knutson). Free throws missed—Milton 10, Parker 3. Total fouls—Milton 13, Parker 28. Fouled out—Thompson.