Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Farmington Defeats Gravette, 64-51
FARMINGTON DEFEATS GRAVETTE, 64-51
GRAVETTE — In the final game of Lion Pride night at Lion Arena Friday night, the Gravette Lions faced off with the Farmington Cardinals in a conference showdown. The Lions held the lead early, but Farmington poured on the coal and steamed past the Lions to take the win by 13.
The first 90 seconds of the first quarter were all defense with neither team able to score until the 6:22 mark when Farmington’s Carson Simmons landed the first field goal of the night. On the next play of the quarter, it was Gravette’s turn to score a field goal and free throw by Tristan Batie for the Lions’ first lead of the night.
The lead went back and forth between Gravette and Farmington until the very last play of the quarter when the Lions nailed a threepointer at the buzzer, giving the team a 17-14 lead.
Gravette held on to its lead in the second quarter until the three-minute mark when Farmington hit a three-point go-ahead basket. The Cardinals continued to pound the boards, hitting five field goals toward the end of the half to take a 10 point advantage into the break.
The second half belonged to Farmington as the Cardinals continued to expand their lead and, by the final buzzer, took the conference victory, 64-51, over the Gravette Lions.
In the last two minutes of the third quarter Farmington put some distance between themselves and the Lions with an 8-2 run bookended by strategic 3-point shots. Layne Taylor turned a steal into a fast- break opportunity and Simmons was open as a trailer. Layne Taylor busted a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to cap the quarter with Farmington owning a 51-36 lead.
The Cardinals led by as many as 17 points in the fourth and Gravette got no closer than 11 on Cordell Donnell’s free throws with 1:14 to go. Layne Taylor and Carson Simmons combined to make 4-of-4 free throws stopping the mouths of the Lions and sealing a 64-51 victory.
Farmington shot 51 percent from the field to 45 percent for Gravette. The Cardinals sizzled behind the 3-point line at 53 percent while holding Gravette to a 17 percent showing. Farmington made 8-of-10 free-throws for 80 percent while Gravette made 16- of-21 for 76 percent.
Four Lions were in double figures for the contest, including Batie with 14, Michael Duke, Cordell Donell and Johnny Dunfee with 10 points each. Two additional Lions contributed to the scoring effort, Jake Carver with six and Dakota Sizemore with one.
For the Farmington Cardinals, Layne Taylor and Carson Simmons together accounted for half of the points for the night with 22 each. Roman Carlson had nine, Caleb Blakely had five, Decory Thomas, Nathan Monroe and James Payne had two points each.
In the rebounding department, Farmington held a 26-19 advantage over Gravette. The Cardinals racked up 16 assists to 10 for the Lions. Farmington had 3 steals, and Gravette 5. The Cardinals blocked 3 shots while Gravette had 1.
FARMINGTON 64, GRAVETTE 51
Gravette 17 11 8 15 — 51 Farmington 14 24 13 13 — 64 Farmington (16-4, 9-1): Carson Simmons 8 3-4 22, Layne Taylor 7 4-4 22, Roman Carlson 3 0-0 9, Caleb Blakely 2 1-2 5, James Payne 1 0-0 2, Nathan Monroe 1 0-0 2, Decory Thomas 1 0-0 2. Totals 23 8-10 64. Gravette (14-7, 6-4): Tristan Batie 5 3-4 14, Cordell Donnell 3 4-4 10, Johnny Dunfee 4 2-2 10, David Duke 3 4-7 10, Jake Carver 2 2-2 6, Dakota Sizemore 0 1-2 1. Totals 17 16-21 51.
3-Point Goals — Farmington 10 (Layne Taylor 4, Simmons 3, Carlson 3), Gravette 1 (Batie).
Rebounds — Farmington 26, Gravette 19. Assists — Farmington 16, Gravette 10. Steals — Farmington 3, Gravette 5. Blocks — Farmington 3, Gravette 1.