FARMINGTON -- If the walls of Myrl Massie Gymnasium could talk, it would be able to regale the listener with many accounts of exciting games played on its hardwood floors. For 30 years the Farmington Cardinals have played their home contests within the hallowed walls of Myrl Massie, and Friday the Farmington boys "turned out the lights" on the old gym when they played in the last game in that facility. And, as a fitting finale, the Cardinals defeated their fiercest rival the Prairie Grove Tigers 66-53 in a non-conference contest.
Farmington's Jeremy Mueller, who became a Prairie Grove fan favorite last season with the famously selfless assist to the Tigers' McKay Gregson, was lethal against Prairie Grove in this tilt, scoring 26 points to lead all scorers.
Mueller scored 7 of his points in the opening frame, with his hoop and harm 3-point play putting the Cardinals up 11-3. The Tigers, who had ball security issues in their first matchup with the Cardinals, again leaked turnovers like an old pipe leaks water, especially in the first period when they coughed up the rock 9 times. One of those turnovers was turned into triple from the hand of Matt Thomas which swelled the Cards' advantage to 16-4.
Farmington led by 14 points, 30-16, following a Skyler Barnes basket at the 3:48 mark of the second stanza; however, the Tigers would stage a run which cut the lead to single digits by intermission. DJ Strong followed a Tanner Pursell free-throw with a trifecta which closed the gap to 30-20. After Barnes converted an inside bucket, Prairie Grove point guard Gavin Heltemes pulled the trigger on a 3-ball and then followed that with a pull-up jumper on a fast-break. Heltemes' jumper cut the lead to 7 points, 32-25. Mueller tallied a freebie from the charity stripe to give Farmington the 33-25 lead heading into halftime.
In the third frame Dylan Soehner connected on a jumper in the lane for Prairie Grove which narrowed the advantage to 33-27; however, Farmington's Thomas stroked a 3-ball then followed his deep ball with a steal and layup which inflated the cushion to 38-27. The lead was still 11 points, 40-29, later in the period following a Matt Wilson steal and layup, but the Tigers continued to fight back. Consecutive baskets from Parker Galligan, Soehner and Pursell helped Prairie Grove draw to within 5 points, 40-35. Wilson thwarted the run with a pull-up jumper and team mate Mueller followed that with an offensive put-back and another "old-fashioned" 3-point play which made the score 47-35. Another Tiger run, concluded with a Leighton Smith layup narrowed the margin to 50-44, but Mueller had another 3-pointer up his sleeve which made the score 53-44 heading into the final stanza.
"We played really well, we just kind of had a poor shooting night. Jeremy Mueller really stabilized us in the third when things were going haywire," said Farmington coach Beau Thompson. "Matt Wilson dominated on the defensive end of the floor and Matt Thomas played the best game he's played in awhile."
A Heltemes' bucket early in the fourth frame cut the lead to 7 points 53-46. However that would be as close as the Tigers would get the rest of the contest as the Cardinals were able to pull-away for the 66-53 victory.
On offense for Farmington, Wilson and Thomas joined Mueller in the double-digit bracket with 13 points apiece, while Barnes added 8 points and Mack Spears tallied 3 points in the winning effort. Prairie Grove was led by Heltemes with 18 points, Soehner pitched in with 11 points, Strong added 8 points, Galligan tallied 7 points, while Smith and Isaac Disney rounded out the scoring with 2 points each.
Sports on 12/17/2014