FARMINGTON -- A 24-5 second quarter surge propelled the Farmington boys basketball team to the Tony Chachere's Classic championship, 60-45, over Huntsville Saturday.
The win avenged an earlier, 43-39, loss at Huntsville on Nov. 29 and improved Farmington (5A West) to 7-1 while Huntsville (4A-1) fell to 7-4. The Eagles beat Waldron, 59-34, Thursday and defeated Gravette, 61-37, to advance to the round-robin tournament championship. Farmington was the only boys team to win each of their games in the tourney. The Cardinals held off Gravette, 69-67, in double overtime Thursday behind senior guard Matt Wilson's 44 points. He was held to 20 Friday, but the Cardinals got past Waldron, 55-52.
Boys
Farmington 60, Huntsville 45
Huntsville^15^5^15^10^–^45
Farmington^20^24^6^10–^60
Huntsville (7-4): Ty Bohannan 5 2-2 15, Alex Pemberton 2 3-5 9, Clay Siegrist 3 2-4 8, Kenton Yarbrough 3 0-0 8, Aaron Scott 2 0-0 5. Totals 15 7-11 45.
Farmington (7-1): Matt Wilson 11 4-5 29, Xavier Staten 4 0-0 10, Taylor Carbonel 2 2-2 7, Cade Fenton 3 0-0 7, Skyler Montez 1 0-0 2, Peyton Maxwell 1 0-0 3, Jacob Gray 1 0-0 2. Totals 23 6-7 60.
3-Point Goals — Huntsville 8 (Bohannan 3, Pemberton 2, Yarbrough 2, Scott), Farmington 8 (Wilson 3, Staten 2, Fenton, Carbonel, Maxwell). Fouled Out — None.
Huntsville's leading scorer, 6-feet-3 guard Jack Eaton, did not play after suffering a deep thigh bruise Friday against Gravette, so Farmington pressed their advantage -- literally. The Cardinals turned up the heat by trapping the ball in the second quarter which translated into Huntsville turnovers and easy transition baskets for Farmington. Wilson was the beneficiary of several opportunities, making 8 of his 9 first-half shots for 19 points.
Against Huntsville, the Cardinals came out shooting well from the tip-off. Xavier Staten hit a free-throw line jumper to begin an 11-4 run. Senior Peyton Maxwell subbed in and immediately had an impact. He hit a 3-pointer, then after Wilson and Cade Fenton both knocked down treys, smothered Huntsville guard Ty Bohannan, who was supposed to take the last shot of the quarter. Maxwell's sticky man-to-man defense forced the Eagles to go elsewhere and they didn't get a good look.
Farmington led 20-15 after the first quarter and they took control of the contest by outscoring Huntsville, 24-5, in the second period. The Cardinal offense was fueled by Eagle turnovers, created by Farmington's ball-hawking half-court traps. Staten played a large role, hitting another 3-pointer, then blocking a shot that led to Wilson's fast-break layup. Fenton came away with a steal and looked down-court, finding Wilson on the fly for another layup. After another Eagle turnover, Staten was left unguarded and hit another 3-point shot.
Farmington coach Beau Thompson said earlier in the tournament that when opponents forget about 5-feet-9 senior guard Taylor Carbonel is when he hurts them. Carbonel must have been listening because he hit a trifecta, then punctuated the quarter by putting in Wilson's only miss of the first half, underneath the goal with six seconds to go.
The Cardinals were up comfortably, 44-20, at halftime, but cooled off in the latter half of the third period. Their shooting fell from 18 of 23 in the first half to just 2 of 12 in the third as Huntsville narrowed the gap to 50-35. Alex Pemberton, Kenton Yarbrough and Aaron Scott each hit 3-pointers in the period for the Eagles, who got within, 50-38, early in the fourth on Bohannan's trey. Thompson called time-out, but a sequence of calls went against the Cardinals including a no-call when Wilson was hammered while driving to the basket, a traveling call when Staten appeared to never move his feet, and a touch-foul against Maxwell.
Again, Farmington's defense helped them turn the tide back in their favor. Staten stole a lob, quickly throwing an outlet to Wilson, who utilized a behind-the-back dribble to slide down the lane, drawing a foul and cashing in on a 3-point play. Carbonel added a pair of foul shots and Wilson fed Jacob Gray on the low block for a layup. Wilson led Farmington with 27 points while Staten chipped in 10, Fenton, 7; Carbonel, 7; Maxwell, 5; and Gray, 2.
Bohannan scored 15 for Huntsville with Pemberton, 9; Clay Siegrist, 8; Yarbrough, 8; and Scott, 5; rounding out the Eagle scoring.
After hosting 7A Bentonville West Monday, the Cardinals are off until the Alma tournament over the Christmas break.
Sports on 12/14/2016