Francis Parker beats Santa Fe Christian to remain unbeaten in Coastal League play: 3 observations

Kimo Ferrari's 18 points helped Francis Parker remain undefeated in league play.

SOLANA BEACH -- Francis Parker beat Santa Fe Christian 74-56 Saturday night to remain undefeated in the Coastal League. Francis Parker senior guard Kimo Ferrari led the Lancers with 18 points. Santa Fe Christian senior Sam Dudley led all scorers with 22 points.

Here are three observations from the Lancers win:

CONDITIONING

Last year’s Parker team that reached the division one
championship had thirteen players on the roster, but this season’s team only
has eight. The Lancers starting five has logged huge minutes all season with none
of the three bench players being heavily utilized.

“That’s Coach Tomey’s secret. We’ve been in there since
September just running hills and running suicides,” said senior captain Kimo
Ferrari. “I mean if you want to get in shape go to Coach Tomey, he’ll make you
run.”

Not having a traditional big man on the roster has forced
Parker to push the ball up the court with added urgency this season, with tons
of success up to this point.

“I would say we’re pretty fun to watch, we’re all guards and
we’re all six (foot) two and under. A lot of people would see that as a
disadvantage but for us we try to play as fast as we can, shoot a lot of threes
and try and work it to our advantage,” Ferrari said after the win. “We play
fast and we have fun.”

LIVE BY THE THREE

Parker started quickly on Saturday getting into a rhythm and
causing all sorts of defensive problems for Santa Fe Christian, who was forced
to use three first half timeouts.

The Lancers led 17-11 after one quarter and really opened
things up in the second quarter, grabbing a 41-22 halftime lead. Parker hit
nine first half three-pointers, three each from Kimo Ferrari and junior guard
Daryl Sledge Jr.

“We just practice our shooting all the time, that’s how we
play,” Ferrari said. “We slowed down a little in the second half, but a lot of
it was just the defense and Coach Tomey did a great job the past week
implementing their sets and we knew it like the back of our hand.”

The Lancers hit five more three-pointers in the second half
and we’re able to shut down Santa Fe Christian’s well-known perimeter attack.

Parker finished with four players in double digits, led by
Kimo Ferrari’s 18-point, eight-rebound, and eight-assist performance.

KEEPING PACE IN THE COASTAL LEAGUE

Parker’s win gave them their fifteenth win of the season and their fifth league win, tying second-ranked Foothills Christian atop the Coastal League standings.

The two teams sit two games clear of the competition with seven games left to play. The Knights and Lancers will matchup for the first time this season on Wednesday night in El Cajon and end the season against each other on February 14th.