FARMINGTON -- Siloam Springs concentrated on preventing Farmington star Matt Wilson from scoring, but there were lapses both offensively and defensively and those little foxes spoiled the vine.
"It was Colors Day over there, a great atmosphere to play in," said Farmington coach Beau Thompson. "Siloam Springs came out smoking hot. They made eight threes in the first half."
Farmington upstaged Siloam Springs' Basketball Homecoming Friday, 51-48, despite Wilson being held under 20 points for the second consecutive game. The contest was also only the second time all season, Wilson (13 points) hasn't been Farmington's leading scorer. That honor went to Skylar Montez with 22 points as the Cardinals fought back from an early deficit and found a way to win.
"They had two (defenders) around Wilson everywhere he went," Thompson said. "They played a zone with two guys on Wilson. We played four on three most of the night. Skylar Montez is the guy, who really made them pay the most. He gets 22 against them. He did a good job of finding the soft spots in their zone."
Wilson, a 6-feet-2 senior guard, set a school-record with 49 points in Farmington's 70-48 defeat of the Panthers at Cardinal Arena Jan. 3. Siloam Springs didn't let that happen Friday, but neither did they win. The Panthers led by 10 points, at 36-26, as the first half wore down, but Wilson got free for an instant, knocking down a deep 3-pointer to cut the lead to seven. He added another trifecta out of the gate to start the third quarter which ended in a 41-41 deadlock.
"We picked up the pressure in the third quarter, coming out at halftime," Thompson said. "By the end of the third quarter we had erased their lead. Once we got it down to a possession game, either two points ahead or two points, one basket behind, we like our chances in those kinds of games."
Farmington eventually built a 7-point lead which Siloam Springs was unable to overcome although the Panthers closed the gap late. Thompson credited Montez and Jacob Gray with getting big buckets down the stretch and Wilson with dribbling the clock out. After a missed free throw, Siloam Springs had a chance but Thompson said the Cardinal defense didn't allow them to get a good look from 3-point land.
"They only make three field goals in the second half on us," Thompson said. "They did make some free throws, but we did a good job defensively. That was the difference in the game."
Farmington 51, Siloam Springs 48
Farmington^17^12^12^10^--^51
Siloam Springs^18^18^5^7^--^48
Farmington (16-5, 5-2): Skylar Montez 22, Matt Wilson 13, Xavier Staten 7, Taylor Carbonel 4, Jacob Gray 3, Grant Patrick 2.
Siloam Springs (7-15, 2-5): Spencer Lashley 15, Charlie Jones 9, Josh Hunt 9, Harrison Kretzer 7, Noah Karp 6, Josh Heinrichs 2.
Harrison 70, Farmington 58
The Farmington boys basketball team lost at home, 70-58, to Harrison in a 5A West conference game Jan. 24. The Goblins (15-4) were led by Tanner Curry's 21 points. Farmington (14-5) got 18 points from Montez, 15 from Wilson and 10 by Xavier Staten.
Harrison^17^17^18^18^--^70
Farmington^12^10^13^23^--^58
Harrison (15-4): Tanner Curry 21, Jackson Marseilles 17, Trevor Atwell 15, Braeden Boren 7, Nathan Jenkins 5, Skyler Young 3, Noah Ditmanson 2. Totals 26 11-12 70.
Farmington (14-5): Skylar Montez 6 6-6 18, Matt Wilson 6 3-4 15, Xavier Staten 4 1-2 10, David Askegaard 2 0-0 6, Cade Fenton 2 0-2 5, Jacob Gray 1 0-0 2, Carson Sharp 0 2-2 2. Totals 21 12-16 58.
3-Point Goals -- Harrison 5 (Atwell, Curry, Marseilles, Boren, Jenkins), Farmington 4 (Askegaard 2, Fenton, Staten).
Alma 61, Farmington 56
Wilson had an off-night, making just 11 of 31 field goal attempts, as Farmington (13-3) lost 61-56 on the road at Alma (10-3, 1-0) Jan. 17. As a team Alma shot 50 percent (19-of-38) and out-rebounded Farmington by more than 10 on the battle of the boards. Yet, Farmington stayed in the game even after five straight Airedale points put Alma ahead, 48-37, with 4:15 elapsed in the fourth quarter. Wilson led the Cardinal charge, notching 13 of his game-high 30 points in the final frame. Wilson's production pulled Farmington within five points, at 56-51, but the Cardinals couldn't quite catch up as Alma made 11-of-12 fourth quarter free throws.
Christian Stahler had 20 and Nathan Corder scored 16 points for Alma. Montez chipped in 13 points for the Cardinals.
"Wilson the last three games he's hardly crossed half-court that he hasn't had two or three guys on him, we knew that was coming," Thompson said. "If they want to have a chance to win that's what you have to do. He's just too good. Not many kids around can stay between him and the basket."
Alma 61, Farmington 56
Farmington^8^12^10^26^--^56
Alma^11^10^17^23^--^61
Farmington (13-4): Matt Wilson 30, Skyler Montez 13, Cade Fenton 7, Xavier Staten 6
Alma (10-3): Christian Stahler 20, Nathan Corder 16, Kade Wood 9, Dathan Hillian 9, Brayden Johnson 6, Tanner Shelton 1.
Sports on 02/01/2017