It was difficult with and without Brandon Terrill on Friday night.

Community R-6 vs Slater Photo Gallery

The Community R-6 boys couldn’t win their third straight game as they lost 68-23 to Central Activities Conference foe Slater at home. Slater’s reigning all-conference player Terrill didn’t play in the first half but still finished with 13 points and five steals in a second half the Trojans only scored five points.

Head coach Kody Asquith said Terrill is a difference maker for Slater (4-3, 1-0 CAC). He just didn’t mean offensively, saying “he’s going to get his points,” but also defensively. Terrill was a big reason Community (2-7, 1-1 CAC) couldn’t cut into a 32-18 halftime deficit while falling further behind.

“It definitely changed the game,” Asquith said. “He’s fast and long and is a threat. He gambles a lot, and it pays off for him.”

Slater was coming up with a lot more steals, so Community hoped whatever shots it set up fell. It didn’t go that way as the Trojans didn’t score until the final minute of the third quarter and didn’t have a single field goal in the second half. 

Brett Beamer hit a 3-pointer to cut into Slater’s first-quarter deficit at 11-7 before the Wildcats went on a 21-4 run. The Trojans didn’t hit any more perimeter shots.

“In the second half, we shot quite a bit but not a lot fell,” Asquith said.

Community appeared to have an answer for that problem with post player Rett Curtis, who led the team with 11 points and eight rebounds. Curtis scored seven of those points in the closing minutes of the first half to try and give the Trojans an offensive spark.

“I tell the boys that, on any given night, I don’t think we’re going to be lights out from the 3-point line,” Asquith said. “I tell them the more we can work the ball in the paint, the better we’ll be. If that means feeding the ball to Rett or us dribble driving, trying to draw a foul or something, I keep telling them you’ve got to keep working the ball in the paint.”

Curtis had a tough matchup in the first half from Slater’s post Maddox Tyler to cover for Terrill’s absence. The “tough and strong” Tyler finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds. 

Asquith said while Curtis is taller than a lot of opposing post players and has some potential with his skillset, he did say the sophomore has room to improve like many on the roster. He said he has been good, especially lately, with 11 points and eight rebounds in a 43-42 win over Silex earlier in the week at home.

“He struggles a little bit from the free throw line, but that’s something we can always try to work on in practice,” Asquith said. 

Community plays in the New Franklin tournament starting Jan. 6.