By Mark Humphrey
ENTERPRISE-LEADER
FARMINGTON -- Like a milestone rising out of the earth, Farmington's new competitive basketball arena emerged on Friday -- forever changing the landscape of Cardinal athletics.
The boys basketball team recorded a dramatic, 62-54, key 5A-West win over visiting Greenbrier while playing for the first time inside brand-new ultra-swank Cardinal Arena. Long-time Farmington assistant boys coach Matt Mahan said before the game he didn't think changing to a new home-court in mid-season would have an effect of switching horses in mid-stream while noting the boys have been able to get in and shoot on the arena court for about two weeks prior to the game.
"I think a lot of the enthusiasm and energy will make up for any difference in the facility," Mahan said. "Anything new's not going to bother them, it's only going to help. They've done such a good job of building [the arena]."
The Cardinals did get off to a good start. Matt Wilson recorded the first-ever field goal in varsity boys competition at the arena by busting a 3-pointer from the top of the key 55 seconds into the contest. Payden Webb's pull-up jumper featured the first field goal by an opponent for Greenbrier, then Skyler Barnes' hustle kept the ball in Farmington's possession by forcing it out-of-bounds leading to Mac Spears' putback after Matt Thomas drove firing up a double-clutch shot. Spears had the first 2-point field goal for the Cardinals on the court.
With 2:18 left in the first quarter senior Jeremy Mueller notched the first assist in the new arena with a nifty behind-the-back pass to Barnes for a layup after Thomas rebounded and cleared the outlet to kick-start a Farmington fast break. With 1.8 seconds remaining Spears stepped in front of a Greenbrier pass making a steal in the left corner and drew a foul stopping the clock. Farmington cashed in on the possession with Thomas throwing in a 3-pointer from beyond the time line giving Farmington a 12-8 lead at the end of the first.
Mueller and Barnes beat a trap with Mueller receiving the ball, then passing it right back to Barnes for another Farmington trifecta and an 18-12 advantage nearly three minutes into the second period. Greenbrier then generated a 14-5 run over the last 4:48 of the half to put Farmington in a 26-23 halftime deficit.
The third quarter featured a see-saw battle with nine lead changes and two ties ending in a 36-36 deadlock.
Greenbrier scored the first four points of the fourth to go up, 40-36, on a 3-pointer but Farmington rallied behind Thomas' free-throw shooting and snuck ahead, 43-42, when Mueller transformed a steal into a layup for Wilson by looking downcourt. A Barnes' trey and Spears' foul shots after claiming an offensive rebound combined with Mueller's acrobatic shot off the glass sent the Cardinals back ahead, 50-44, with just over three minutes showing.
Greenbrier closed to within 52-49 after Payden Webb's 3-pointer and Justin Tims' putback. The Panthers had chances to get even closer but a charging foul was called against them after a steal. When their bench protested another foul, a technical foul was assessed and Thomas made all four charity shots. An intentional foul call against Greenbrier when players collided fighting for control of the ball led to Wilson's free-throws effectively sealing the game and Farmington won 62-54.
"We found out right quick there's a war every night in this league," said Farmington coach Beau Thompson. "There's not a bad team in it, there's not an average team in it."
One of the keys for the Cardinals was Wilson's ability to stay in the game despite playing much of the second half with four fouls and Thompson said he makes a difference when he's in the lineup.
"He stabilizes our offense whether he's scoring or not. He allows Thomas and Mueller to roam along the baseline. They're pretty deadly. This was a big win tonight."
Up next for the Cardinals is Friday's home game versus Little Rock Christian. Tip off is at 5 p.m.
Sports on 01/21/2015