FARMINGTON -- A four-point swing in the second quarter's final minute tilted momentum in Alma's favor as the Airedales pulled away late for a 57-44 win at Farmington in January.
That was a non-conference contest but after the Arkansas Activities Association governing body voted last Wednesday to mix 6A and 5A schools into districts beginning in 2016, the Cardinals will likely face Alma in games which count in conference standings, not only in basketball but also baseball and softball.
Farmington coach Beau Thompson said he was proud of his boys for fighting back and marked improvement from the Cardinals' 64-47 Dec. 30 loss to Alma in the finals of the Airedale Classic.
"Our turnovers were less than the last time we played them," Thompson said. "We can only go about seven deep. The way they play, they just wore us down. We expend a lot of energy to get back in it after the 10-1 start."
"Thank goodness there's not a team like that in our league."
Thompson's quote now rings like sheer irony with the AAA's travel-reduction program matching small 5A schools like Farmington (501 enrollment) up against bigger 6A schools, some of which are more than twice their size.
Even with a defender waving a hand in his face, Skyler Barnes nailed a trifecta from the left wing to earn Farmington a 22-22 tie with 1:11 to go in the first half, culminating a 21-11 Cardinal run over 11:28 spanning the first and second quarters.
Farmington had a chance to go ahead when Michael Ryan fought off a defender climbing his back to yank down a lead pass tipped away out on the right wing. The 6-foot-3 senior put the ball on the floor and drove aggressively, but his shot was too hard and teammate Michael Ingram couldn't score with the rebound. When Alma cleared it, they found their big man, 6-foot-5 Jake Folkerts, inside for a bucket.
The basket Farmington didn't get, followed by Folkerts' field goal represented a 4-point swing and the Cardinals never did recover. Brandon Harris hit a 3-pointer with 14 seconds left to give Alma a 27-22 halftime lead. Although the Cardinals matched the Airedales point-for-point in the third, they never seriously threatened again and Alma won, 57-44.
Alma began the contest on a 10-1 run with Braxton Anderson hitting twice from 3-point range, then Austin Lee adding a free throw and another Airedale trey with the game 4:09 old. The Airedales were pressuring the ball and Jeremy Mueller worked through traffic before seeing Barnes open for a spot-up 3-pointer from the right corner to give Farmington their first field goal 12 seconds later.
The bucket kick-started Farmington's run with 9 unanswered points to close out the first quarter. After turnovers by both teams, Matt Thomas beat the press by advancing the ball to Ingram, who got the rock to Ryan in the low-post for an easy two. Thomas later attacked and added a pair of free throws. Alma was playing physical defense and after a number of hand-checks were whistled for wiping out Barnes going to the basket. His foul shots tied the game at 10-all, which Matt Duffy made stand up by running out at Lee, who scorched Farmington for 27 points the week before. The effort forced Lee to misfire on a 3-point attempt but 50 seconds into the second stanza he got a good look and scored.
Alma point-guard Braylon Parker helped the Airedales notch 7 straight points by beating the Cardinals down the floor in transition, then after failing to convert a 3-point play, he stole the outlet and made his second lay-up in 7 seconds giving Alma an 17-10 lead.
Farmington again fought back. Ryan used his wide body to screen out two defenders freeing up Mueller for an uncontested lay-up in the half-court offense before catching the ball in the paint and recording a hoop. Then Mueller drove left across the lane and elevated for a free-throw line jump shot and added a 3-pointer to tie the game, at 19-all, following an Ingram steal.
After breaking away from the 22-22 deadlock, Alma extended their 5-0 finish to the first half into a 17-7 spurt ending with an Anderson 3-pointer with 2:01 showing in the third that put the Airedales up by 10, at 39-29. Mueller in-bounded, then ran to the left corner where Bryson Duffy fed him for a 3-pointer and Thomas drove down the box out of the high-post for a lay-up to cut Alma's lead to 39-34.
In the fourth quarter, Alma steadily milked the clock and efficiently ran their offense to keep a double digit lead, winning 57-44.
Barnes led Farmington with 13 points with Mueller adding 11.
Boys Basketball All-Conference
Three U.S. 62 schools were represented among 4A-1 All-Conference boys basketball players receiving post-season awards for 2013-14.
Farmington players receiving All-Conference honors were Matt Thomas, Jeremy Mueller, Mac Spears and Skyler Barnes.
Lincoln players listed among All-Conference honorees were: Ossy Escareno, Shandon Goldman, Payton Hulse, Dylan McConnell and Justin Brewer. Escareno was All-State and Goldman made the All-State 4A tournament team.
Ty Tice and Dylan Soehner earned All-Conference honors for Prairie Grove. Tice was also All-State.
Sports on 08/13/2014