Boys basketball: ‘Roller-coaster’ season ends in Rochester

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A red-hot Rochester Mayo team shot Farmington out of the Section 1AAAA tournament last Wednesday.

The fourth-seeded Spartans connected on 63 percent of their shots and led 49-23 by halftime as they advanced past the fifth-seeded Tigers 88-54 in Rochester. The 88 points was the most Farmington allowed all season and the 34-point margin of defeat was the second largest of the season.

“Mayo shot the ball extremely well and played very aggressive on defense. We anticipated that style of defense but did not respond at all,” Farmington coach Shane Wyandt said. “I think one of the reasons they shot so well was because we did not contest well enough early and once they gained confidence they were knocking everything down.”

The Tigers finished with a record of 10-17 and tied for fifth in the Missota Conference with a 6-8 mark. The team found a way to win some close games (six by a total of 16 points), but seven of its eight conference losses were by an average of over 20 points.

“It was a very interesting season, really a roller-coaster ride which we somewhat anticipated being so young and inexperienced. I did not anticipate the difference of play at times, but we certainly had a lot of different experiences to learn from,” Wyandt said. “That experience and talent level should help us improve next season but our guys have a tremendous amount of work to do to get better. We also have to keep in mind that almost our entire conference was very young and most teams also return several key players. We have to outwork those other schools in our conference and section.”

Junior guard Darren Beenken led the Tigers with 16 points in the section game. He figures to be back in the mix next season, along with sophomore center Nick Varner, who scored 10 points against the Spartans.

Senior Austin Bassett scored nine points in his final game. Other seniors were Alec Hogstad, Jake Hanson and Grant Blomster.

“They were a very good group of young men to coach,” Wyandt said. “They all showed dedication to the program over the years and should be proud of their accomplishments. They'll be missed.”

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