Matt Wilson Cracks 50

SENIOR BREAKS OWN SCORING RECORD

FARMINGTON — In a 3- point shootout, Farmington prevailed, 69- 58, over Clarksville on the strength of a 50-point performance from senior Matt Wilson on Colors Day.

The Cardinal 6- feet-2 guard set a Farmington record with the most prolific offensive output in a single game in school history at Cardinal Arena with eight made 3-pointers. His outside shooting and 18 of 27 overall field goal shooting helped the Cardinals offset a 27- point outing by Clarksville’s Juan Hernandez, who made six 3-pointers of his own on the way to 27 points.

Wilson came out of the gate hot, making five 3-point shots in the first quarter. Despite Wilson’s hot hand, the Cardinals trailed after each of the first three quarters. Clarksville led 22-21 after one period of play on Hernandez’ 3-pointer from the top-of-the-key. Bob Hurley hit another trey for the Panthers as they opened up a 5-point lead of 30-25 with 5:27 to go in the first half.

Ironically on his record- setting night, Wilson put three field goals in the hoop that didn’t count besides a charging call in the first quarter. A traveling violation erased a made bucket with 8.2 seconds left in the first half and Farmington trailed, 40-37, at intermission. He made up for that 31 seconds into the third quarter by taking a defensive rebound coast-to-coast and utilizing a behind-the-back dribble to get all the way to the hoop.

At the 3:01 mark of the third, Wilson got the shooter’s bounce on a made 3-pointer out top, but the basket was disallowed because his teammate Xavier Staten grabbed the rim and was whistled for basket interference. Mekhi Burnett’s put-back beat the third period horn and Clarksville led, 52-47, going into the fourth.

But the game had changed. The Panthers managed a mere 18 points in the second half, six in the fourth quarter and were soon overtaken by Farmington. Wilson began the period by scoring the first eight points. He hit a pull-up 18-footer from the left wing, then pulled up again after yanking down a defensive rebound and bringing the ball up. Wilson connected on backto- back 3- pointers, sandwiched around a Clarksville traveling turnover and Farmington led, 55-52. The lead went to five points on Cade Fenton’s putback of one of the few threes Wilson missed.

Hernandez broke the 10-0 Cardinal run with a free throw, but Wilson threw a 3/4 court pass to Fenton ahead of the defense for a layup. Going into the last 1:08 Wilson had accumulated 44 points and he would not be denied. He ripped the ball away from Hernandez in the corner and converted the steal for a layup. He missed the front end of a 1- and-1 with 26.5 seconds remaining, but drew another foul and made both after Hernandez hit his final 3-pointer.

Clarksville in-bounded at the far end with 11.1 seconds on the clock and Wilson played his cards perfectly. Burnett brought the ball up and attempted a pass slightly behind him to a guard on the other side. Wilson anticipated the pass, stealing the ball and sailing in for a layup. He momentarily lost the ball on the way up, but recovered and converted the layup for his 50th point of the contest.

Farmington 65, Greenwood 55

An array of athletes make up Farmington’s roster — many nights they have chosen to give up the rock in favor of the high-scoring Wilson. The team has contributed mightily in Wilson’s personal assault on the record books such as a 49-point effort against Siloam Springs Jan. 3. But teams concentrating on Wilson will find out as Greenwood did on Jan. 10 the four other Cardinals on the court are capable of scoring. In the blended

MARK HUMPHREY ENTERPRISE-LEADER Sharpshooter. Farmington senior Matthew Wilson, shown against Siloam Springs, displayed his shooting range by hitting eight 3-point shots from way outside during his 50-point effort in a 69-58 win over Clarksville at Cardinal Arena Jan. 13.