Boys basketball: Late runs keep Tigers winless

Talk about it

Farmington led by nine points early in the second half Friday night before turnovers and poor shooting allowed Hastings to rally for a 62-55 non-conference win.

The Tigers opened the second half with a 10-2 run, but made just two field goals over the final nine minutes as the Raiders got back in the game. The visitors led for the final time at 50-48 before the Raiders closed the game with a 14-5 run.

“They hit a couple of threes and capitalized on some poor turnovers on our part and the game started to get out of control,” Farmington coach Shane Wyandt said. “Mental toughness has been an issue so far and when things get tight in a game we tend to turn it over and struggle with our shooting and decision making.”

Nick Varner scored 12 of his career-high 23 points in the first half as the Tigers surged to a 38-33 advantage. Teammate Darren Beenken added 18 points for the second straight game.

Four days after opening the season with a 24-point loss to Rochester John Marshall, Wyandt saw his team make some progress in a 60-49 setback to Rochester Century last Tuesday.

The Tigers closed a 31-22 halftime deficit down to a single point early in the second half and were within a point at 42-40 with 10 minutes remaining. The Panthers used an 18-9 run over the final 10 minutes to win by double figures.

“We were happy the way we came out and competed after a very poor first game. Century is a quality team that will be one of the top seeds in our section,” Wyandt said. “We executed across the board much better than against John Marshall and every time Century made a run we were tough enough to answer back.”

Beenken led the Tigers with 18 points. MacKinley Bassett scored nine points and Austin Bassett added eight.

Varner and Tom Sell each grabbed seven rebounds.

The Tigers were back at home Tuesday night when eighth-ranked (Class 3A) Spring Lake Park came to Tiger Gym for a non-conference game. The team is home again tonight against St. Paul Harding before traveling to Target Center for a match up against Zimmerman tomorrow night.

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