PARKSTON -- Parkston boys basketball head coach Craig Bruening said his team hadn't seen much zone defense this season.
Monday's results showed as Miller was able to confuse Parkston's offense in the second half, cruising to a 63-40 victory in the Parkston Classic in Parkston.
"Well, we just weren't prepared for the one-three-one defense, and we didn't handle their pressure very well," Bruening said. "You don't see that kind of defense very often, but we definitely weren't prepared enough for it. We'll be better at it next time."
Miller coach Bob Waldrop said he decided to switch to zone after a tightly contested first half to put more pressure on the Trojans, and the results paid dividends.
"I was really happy with our effort," Waldrop said. "It was the most complete game we played all season. We switched into a zone, and we were able to create some turnovers and convert on fast-break opportunities for easy points."
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The defense slowed down the Trojan offensive attack because it didn't create enough passing lanes and forced Parkston to dribble into two defenders at various times, according to Bruening.
Despite falling short, Parkston (3-1) was led by Dillan Thuringer, who had 15 points and seven rebounds. Meanwhile, Ty Kinneberg had 14 points and Kyle Schnabel tallied 12 for the Trojans.
Beau Keeter led the way offensively for Miller (1-3) with 24 points and five rebounds. The Rustlers also received contributions from Colton Petman, who had 11 points and five rebounds, and Cody Naber, who scored 11 points and dished out three assists. Also playing a role for Miller was Riley Mullany, who had five rebounds.
Parkston takes on Winner at 3 p.m. on Saturday in Winner, while Miller takes on De Smet on Jan. 6 in De Smet.
M 16 29 40 63
P 12 23 28 40
