Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Cards Clamp Down On Pierce
FARMINGTON — Defense carried Farmington to a 65-48 win over Gravette in the semifinal of the District boys basketball tournament held at Farmington on Friday.
A night after Lion guard Terence Pierce singed the nets for 44 points against Berryville, Farmington limited Pierce to 18 points.
Although Pierce recorded a slam-dunk in the contest he wasn’t able to get in rhythm from the perimeter.
“We did a better job on him all game. Most of his points were on run-outs,” said Farmington coach Beau Thompson. “We did a good job of sticking to the game plan.”
“We didn’t shoot it well. Farmington played real well. We struggled with mental toughness at times,” said Gravette coach Dustin Peters.
Pierce’s steal and slam gave Gravette a 9- 8 edge but Farmington would not let them hold onto the lead for long. Blaise Albright rebounded and threw the outlet to Skyler Barnes, who fed Michael Ryan for a lay-up at the first quarter buzzer as the Cardinals went ahead, 14-11.
The contest was tied at 25-all at halftime but Farmington seized control in the third frame outscoring the Lions 19-5. After Otto Troutner’s bucket in the post, Gravette failed to score for the final 2: 42 of the third period. Matt Wilson checked in and created an impact with hustle, scoring a lay-up to help the Cardinals extend their lead to 44-30.
“He interjects quickness into the game,” Thompson said.
Gravette narrowed the gap to 12 but Farmington put on the throttle and ran the lead back up to 17 on Mac Spears’ foul shot and were not threatened in the last 3:50.
The 65-48 victory put the Cardinals in the 4A-1 championship against Prairie Grove on Saturday.
“I told the team to forget that one,” Peters said. “We have got to move on to get ready for Wednesday. We’re going to have a real tough opponent. We’ve got ourselves behind the eightball a little bit but if we come out and shoot it well I feel like we can play with anybody.”
Farmington takes on 2013 4A champion, Pottsville, which the Cards beat, 64-63, in the Alma tourney, at the 4A North Regional at Lincoln Thursday at 8:30 p.m. The first-round winner qualifies for state.