FARMINGTON -- Farmington (8-1) defeated Bentonville West (2-5), 74-45, in nonconference action Dec. 12 at Cardinal Arena.
Farmington opened the game on a 7-0 run with Matt Wilson scoring twice, including a 3-pointer and a Cade Fenton bucket. Gabe Hornsby blocked a shot, then finished at the other end with a pull-up three to break the run and get Bentonville West on the scoreboard. The Cardinals then rattled off 15 unanswered points to close out the quarter.
Farmington 74, Bentonville West 45
West^3^14^14^14^—^45
Farmington^22^23^21^8^—^74
Bentonville West (2-5): Gabe Hornsby 3 3-3 11, Boston Barron 2 2-2 6, Ben Larsen 2 0-0 4, Austin Conner 2 0-0 4, Levi Rutherford 2 0-0 4, Garrett Wilmot 1 1-2 4, Hayden White 1 0-0 3, Collier Blackburn 1 1-1 3, Michael Hill 1 0-0 2, Bryce Lee 1 0-0 2, Kendall Young 1 0-0 2. Totals 17 7-8 45.
Farmington (8-1): Matt Wilson 10 3-4 27, Skyler Montez 7 5-5 20, Cade Fenton 2 1-2 6, Conner Hill 2 0-0 4, Grant Patrick 1 2-2 4, Xavier Staten 1 0-0 3, Carson Sharp 1 0-0 3, Bryce Waggle 1 0-0 2, Will Watts 2, Kade Killion 1 0-0 2, Peyton Maxwell 0 1-2 1. Totals 27 12-16 74
3-Point Goals — Bentonville West 4 (Hornsby 2, White, Wilmot), Farmington 8 (Wilson 4, Staten, Fenton, Montez, Sharp). Fouled Out — None.
Wilson switched hands with a crossover move going right to left, hit a short jumper, then beat the Wolverines in transition by going to his left. Bentonville West coach Greg White called time-out, but Wilson stole the ball and sailed in for a layup. He added a pair of free throws, then with attention focussed on Wilson, Xavier Staten grabbed a long offensive rebound in the jump circle at the top of the free throw line. He drove, drew defenders and dished to Skyler Montez for a layup.
White called his second time-out of the period, but the Wolverines turned the ball over and couldn't produce any more points in the quarter. He had an eye-witness view of Wilson's final trifecta of the quarter. The Cardinal senior was so close to the Bentonville West bench that White could have reached out and touched him as he launched and sank a long 3-pointer stretching Farmington's lead to 22-3.
In the second quarter, Wilson's offensive rebound led to a Montez 3-pointer, then Fenton showed his shooting ability by making the Wolverines pay for a turnover with his trey. Farmington led 33-12 midway through the second, and finished the first half on a 12-5 run.
The Cardinals challenged West's ability to cover the floor. Fenton threw a cross-court pass out of the right corner to Wilson, who missed a three only to have Staten claim another offensive rebound and pass to Montez underneath the goal, who used a pump fake for a hoop and harm. His 3-point play was later matched by Staten, taking a cross-court pass and knocking down a trifecta. Farmington was in front, 45-17, at halftime.
Montez had a big third quarter, starting with a 2 for 2 trip to the foul line. Wilson threw him a perfect bounce pass as he scored off the glass. After West's Levi Rutherford put in a Wolverine miss, Wilson again assisted Montez. Montez also threw down a dunk off Wilson's steal and lead pass putting the Cardinals way out front, at 56-21, inside five minutes to go in the third.
Farmington coach Beau Thompson subsituted liberally from that point, but the Cardinals continued to make plays. Grant Patrick sanks two free throws, Peyton Maxwell fed Conner Hill for a layup, who returned the favor by passing to Trey Waggle for an easy shot in the key. Carson Sharp nailed a 3-pointer and Maxwell added a free throw after anticipating and stealing an in-bounds pass. The Cardinal advantage was 68-31 after three quarters and they went on to the 74-45 win two days after concluding three consecutive days of competition during the Tony Chachere's Classic.
Farmington began that tournament with an intense, down-to-the-wire three times, 69-67, double overtime victory over Gravette.
"That's a good team, I knew they were good," Thompson said, referring to Gravette. "They lived up to what I thought they were."
Farmington tied the game with 53 seconds left in regulation on Wilson's 3-pointer, then had to defend. The Lions tried to play for the last shot, but a trap pinned on the ball on the right wing and forced a Gravette timeout. The Lions would in-bound three times in the last 22 seconds of regulation, yet never get off a shot forcing overtime.
In the first overtime, Farmington's Taylor Carbonel lobbed the ball to Fenton for a go-ahead basket on an in-bounds play under the basket. Gravette went ahead, 61-59, but Wilson made 2 of 2 to tie the game at 63-63 with 36 seconds showing in the first overtime. Both teams missed shots to send the contest into a second overtime.
Carbonel came up big in the second overtime, driving and sinking a left-handed runner in the lane. The Cardinals eventually won when Wilson passed to Fenton in the paint for the winning bucket.
"Taylor Carbonel is almost always the smallest kid on the floor, but he's got a huge heart -- that's why we play him," Thompson said. "Whenever the other team forgets about him, that's when he hurts them."
Thompson said the game was a good indication of what is coming with teams trying to clamp down on Wilson.
"We got a big bucket at the end from Cade Fenton. We got good tips from Skyler Montez and Xavier State down on defense. Really, that's where we won the game on the defensive end."
Sports on 12/21/2016