Price Wins Debut As Springdale Pulls Away In OT

FARMINGTON — Jeremy Price’s Springdale High School head coaching debut looked like it was going to end in a loss after 28 minutes Tuesday.

Then Springdale flipped a switch, scoring 11 straight points to take a lead in the final minute, weathering a cold-blooded Matt Thomas 3- pointer in the final seconds of regulation and then pulling away in overtime.

It all added up to a wild but welcome 57-51 overtime victory for Springdale.

“I’ll take it anyway I can get it, but yeah, that’s pretty stressful,” Price said.

Thomas scored a game- high 28 points for the Cardinals (0-1), which led 24-9 midway through the second quarter. He hit 14-of-17 at the free-throw line and knocked down two 3-pointers, including the straightaway 3-pointer over two Springdale defenders with two seconds left to tie the game at 47 and send it to overtime.

“He’s a 15-, 20-, 25-point scorer every game,” Farmington coach Beau Thompson said. “He’s very elusive. He makes up for his lack of athleticism with his savvy.”

Ishine McFarlane scored a team-high 19 points and had eight rebounds for Springdale (1-0), and

Devon Young hit four 3- pointers. Senior David Carachure made key plays, including free throws, late as the Bulldogs won despite senior Kyler Mahar having an uncharacteristic off night and finishing with just five points.

“We don’t have a whole lot of varsity experience, so for our one guy that has experience to not play great and our guys getting experience to play well, that’s only going to help,” Price said.

Springdale weathered Farmington’s early surge and closed the first half with a 14-4 run to cut the Cardinals’ lead to 27-23 at the break. The run extended into the third quarter, becoming an 18-3 spurt that tied the game at 27.

“It’s real hard to simulate in practice their 3-2 zone,” Price said. “We had a hard time finding gaps and forced a lot of 3s early. So we focused more on getting the ball in the paint first and that opened things up a little bit.”

Farmington answered back, scoring nine straight to regain the lead and control.

The Cardinals led 44-36 midway through the fourth quarter before Springdale went on the 11-0 run to take the lead. Thomas hit the game-tying shot to extend the game, but Springdale controlled overtime as Farmington turned the ball over eight times in the fourth quarter and overtime.

“Turnovers were what got us beat,” Thompson said. “When you’re up 10 in the fourth quarter with two experienced guards, you’ve got to win that game.”

NWA DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE/ MICHAEL WOODS • @NWAMICHAELW Matt Thomas (10), Farmington guard, pulls up to hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer Tuesday over Springdale High School defenders David Carachure (2) and Kyler Mahar (21) to force an overtime period in Farmington.

NWA DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE/ MICHAEL WOODS • @NWAMICHAELW Matt Thomas (10), Farmington guard, tries to get the ball past Springdale High School defenders David Carachure (2) and Towayne Bobo (24) during the game Tuesday in Farmington.