FARMINGTON -- Clutch fourth quarter free throw shooting by Farmington kept Bentonville on ice and the Tigers left Cardinal Arena with a lump of coal in their stockings -- losing 40-36.
That was just the recipe Farmington coach Beau Thompson ordered as the Class 4A Cardinals improved to 3-0 in defeating a Bentonville team that finished 21-8 and reached the semifinals of the Class 6A state tournament last season.
Bentonville's Colton Simmons hit a 3-pointer coming out of a time-out, pulling the Tigers within two, at 29-27, with 3:53 left in the fourth quarter. Logan Landwehr answered at the other end by hitting a pull-up jumper.
Bentonville tried to go to Colton Simmons on the next offensive set, but Farmington senior Marqwaveon fought through a screen and contested a shot by the 6-6 Bentonville senior which didn't go in.
Bentonville went to a half-court trap inside two-and-a-half minutes to play but failed to capitalize on Farmington turnovers. With a minute to go Logan Burch stepped up to hit both ends of a 1-and-1 extending Farmington's lead to 33-27. He would make 5-of-6 foul shots in the last sixty seconds while Landwehr went 4-of-4 in the same time span to seal the win.
"Between Burch (5-8), Landwehr (6-2) and Watson (5-10), they're not very big, but they know how to finish games," said Farmington coach Beau Thompson. "We think if we can get a three- or four-point lead with a couple of minutes left, we can put it in the freezer like we did. Bentonville kept making shots. We were really about one free throw away from being in a bind."
Harrison Hicks, a 6-6 sophomore, made a three with the clock showing 33.8 seconds and the taller Tigers hit a trio of 3-pointers in the fourth cutting the lead to 37-35 when Colton Simmons got a second chance when a teammate grabbed his initial miss from the top-of-the-key and passed the ball back to him.
Landwehr answered by making both shots of the double bonus with the clock down to 16.1 seconds. Bentonville sophomore Hayden Shanks drove hard to the basket on the next Tiger possession but missed his first free throw leaving Farmington with a 3-point advantage. Burch sank a free throw in the final seconds to account for the 40-36 final.
"The second half and most of the first we played the game at our pace. We definitely didn't want to trade them shot-for-shot," Thompson said. "I thought our kids did a good job of being patient. We definitely weren't trying to hold it. We just wanted to get the shot we wanted."
Farmington led 14-7 after one quarter and 19-17 at halftime despite going 6:46 without a point in the second quarter. Bentonville got ahead, 22-21, going into the fourth quarter when the teams combined for 33 points.
Made field goals were at a premium during a spread-the-court game slowed by Farmington as much as it could without stalling. The Cardinals took only 23 shots and made 11. Burch came free on a screen in the right corner and drilled a 3-pointer to give Farmington the lead for good with 4:46 remaining in the third.
"Qwa had a great pass to me and I had a great screen off the elevator," Burch said."My teammates did a great job of getting me the ball at the end and we just worked together. I was fortunate to make shots towards the end of the game on the line."
Bentonville's Brayden Freeman, a 6-foot-5 senior, hurt his ankle in the second quarter and had to be helped off the court on a play where he turned the ball over with a charging foul.
"I feel terrible for Brayden Freeman," Thompson said. "We wish that kid the best. When he went out, that changed the complexity of the game a bit. He's a post presence."
Farmington played at Alma Tuesday then hosts the Tony Chachere's tournament Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Cardinal Arena. The Cardinals visit Siloam Springs Dec. 17 before beginning 4A-1 Conference play Dec. 20 at rival Prairie Grove.
Farmington 40, Bentonville 36
Bentonville^7^10^5^14^--^36
Farmington^14^5^2^19^--^40
Bentonville (1-1): Colton Simmons 3 0-0 9, Sawyer Price 4 1-3 9, Harrison Hicks 2 2-2 8, Hayden Shanks 2 1-2 5, Thane Spencer 1 0-1 3, Brayden Freeman 1 0-0 2. Totals 13 4-8 36.
Farmington (3-0): Logan Landwehr 5-8 4-6 16, Logan Burch 2-6 7-8 12, Devonte Donovan 2-3 3-4 7, Austin Shelley 2-2 0-0 4, Riley Funk 0-1 1-3 1, Marqwaveon Watson 0-1 0-0 0, Cade Young 0-1 0-0 0, Mateo Carbonel 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 11-23 15-21 40.
3-Point Goals -- Farmington 3-8 (Landwehr 2-2, Burch 1-4, Young 0-1, Carbonel 0-1), Bentonville 6 (Simmons 3, Hicks 2, Spencer).
Rebounds -- Farmington 20 (Donovan 5). Assists -- Farmington 9 (Donovan 3). Steals -- Farmington 4 (Burch, Donovan, Landwehr, Watson). Blocks -- Farmington None. Turnovers -- Farmington 18.
Sports on 12/11/2019