Boys basketball: A forgettable start

Talk about it

A physical Shakopee team made life tough for Farmington on both ends of the court during Friday’s Missota Conference opener at Tiger Gym.

The Sabers established a 33-15 rebounding advantage, forced 26 turnovers and held the Tigers to 27 percent shooting from the field during a 70-37 win.

“They were playing without their starting center too, which added insult to injury there,” Farmington coach Shane Wyandt said. “It’s like a broken record, but we have to rebound and we were horrendous at that. And we have to shoot the basketball decently and take care of the ball. Those things are huge for everybody, but for us if any one of those things is off, we don’t win. All three of them were off.”

The Tigers, who trailed 39-16 at the break, were led by Alex Michels’ eight points and nine rebounds. Nick Varner also scored eight points.

Kevin Carlson tallied 18 points and 16 rebounds to lead Shakopee.

Farmington (5-7) continues its league schedule this week with a road game Tuesday night at Holy Angels and a home matchup with rival Northfield tomorrow night at Tiger Gym. Wyandt said there aren’t any easy victories to be had on his team’s remaining schedule.

“Every game we’re going to have to play really well to win,” he said.

The Tigers got out to a slow start last Tuesday against Prescott (Wis.), but eventually pulled away for a 74-53 win.

Four players scored in double figures, led by Darren Beenken’s 17 points. Michels scored 12 points, Zach Wallace 11 and Andy Born 10. Michels led the Tigers on the glass with 17 rebounds and Josh Ruthenbeck added 10.

“They had some nice players and some length — three of their starters were 6-3 or 6-4 and that’s our tallest player,” Wyandt said. “They didn’t have our depth and we were switching guys in and out. Our style wore them down by the end of the first half.”

The Tigers closed the half with a 12-2 run and led 41-25 at the break.

Tags: boys basketball, sports, farmington, tigers, prep