Boys come up short
Farmington showed it’s more than a one-man show Friday night against Siloam Springs.
The Panthers held Cardinals star guard Matt Wilson to just 13 points after Wilson burned them for 49 points in a 71-48 Farmington victory at Cardinal Arena on Jan. 3.
But Wilson’s teammate Skyler Montez erupted for 22 points and the Cardinals held Siloam Springs to just 12 points in the second half for a 51-48 victory to spoil homecoming inside Panther Activity Center.
The Panthers paid special attention to Wilson, the Delta State (Miss.) signee, and deservedly so, but Farmington coach Beau Thompson was glad to see another Cardinal step up.
“You know when they’ve got two of them stretched out on Wilson, this guy (Montez) pretty well made them pay about every time,” Thompson said. “He didn’t miss many.”
Siloam Springs (7-15, 2-5) led most of the first half as Spencer Lashley hit five 3-pointers, but a deep Wilson 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer pulled Farmington within 36-29. Montez also scored
12 points in the first half to help keep the Cardinals (16-5, 5-2) in it.
Wilson knocked down another tree to start the second half and the Cardinals caught the Panthers 41-41 at the end of the third quarter on a basket by Montez.
“We didn’t come out with the momentum we thought we went into the half with,” said Siloam Springs coach Tim Stewart. “That gave Farmington that little spurt right there. Give all the credit to Farmington. Beau does a good job and they’ve got really good players, players that stepped up.”
Farmington opened up a 50-43 lead in the fourth. Charlie Jones hit a 3-pointer to get the Panthers within four. Siloam Springs got within 51-48 with less than a minute left but couldn’t get a good look off to tie.
Lashley finished with 15 points on those five 3-pointers in the first half to lead Siloam Springs. Jones and Josh Hunt each scored nine, while Harrison Kretzer had seven, Noah Karp six and Josh Heinrichs two.
“You want to reward the kids’ effort, but hey they’re working hard,” Stewart said. “The foundation’s getting laid and we’re going to finish the season real strong.” Farmington 51, Siloam Springs 48
Farmington 17 12 12 10 — 51
Siloam Springs 18 18 5 7 — 48
Farmington (16-5, 5-2): Montez 22, Wilson 13, Staten 7, Carbonel 4, Gray 3, Patrick 2. Siloam Springs (7-15, 2-5): Lashley 15, Jones 9, Hunt 9, Kretzer 7, Karp 6, Heinrichs 2.
Providence Academy 43, Siloam Springs 36
Braden Thomas scored 19 points, including a big 3-pointer in the fourth quarter, and Taylor Weber added 15 and a big dunk late as the Patriots held off the Panthers on Tuesday night at Panther Activity Center. Siloam Springs, which trailed by 16 points early in the third quarter, had pulled within 37-33 after a Noah Karp basket inside. The Patriots came back down and found Thomas in the far corner and he buried the shot to put the Patriots up 40-33. “He didn’t blink,” Providence coach Austin Bivens said of Thomas, who finished with five 3-pointers. “He can get hot. A guy like that can be streaky, but he was just ice cold on that shot.” S.K. Shittu was limited by foul trouble most of the night but he did throw down three twohanded dunks to finish with six points. Former Siloam Springs guard Luke Loveless was in early foul trouble and didn’t crack the scoring column. Josh Hunt led the Panthers with 13 points, while Noah Karp had 11, Harrison Kretzer eight and Murphy Perkins and Spencer Lashley each with two. The Patriots never trailed in their nonconfernce victory, taking a double-digit lead in the second quarter and 27-13 lead at halftime. Shittu opened the third quarter with another dunk as Providence’s lead reached 16 points. Siloam Springs head coach Tim Stewart said he was proud the Panthers kept battling. “The kids character came through. We didn’t have the start we wanted obviously and came out tentative in the second quarter,” Stewart said. “Really proud of the kids’ effort and cut it to four. Our defense, we’re making the best slides we’ve made all year, and they were able to hit a big shot and push the lead back to seven. Then a couple of turnovers and marginal shots, and we weren’t quite able to turn the corner. There again, it shows that our kids aren’t going to give up. They’re going to keep working and keep fighting. We’re proud of that fact.” Providence Academy 43, Siloam Springs 36
Providence Academy 11 16 6 10 — 43
Siloam Springs 4 9 9 14 — 36
Providence Academy: Thomas 19, Weber 15, Shuttu 6, Sivina 2, Philip 1. Siloam Springs: Hunt 13, Karp 11, Kretzer 8, Perkins 2, Lashley 2.
Up next
The Panthers play at Harrison on Tuesday.