Spectacular Plays Dazzle Pioneers

FARMINGTON BOYS RACE PAST GENTRY 68-36

FARMINGTON — Layne Taylor had an off- night shooting but his teammates applied relentless pressure on the ball and pounded the boards as Farmington beat Gentry, 68-36, on Tuesday, Jan. 25.

The Cardinals remained alone atop the 4A-1 boys basketball standings by virtue of their win at Cardinal Arena going into Friday’s rivalry showdown with Prairie Grove.

Four players scored in double figures for the Cardinals as they dominated from start to finish. Layne Taylor finished with 15 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 7 steals and a blocked shot finding ways to impact the game with an all-around effort.

At one juncture in the first half, Layne Taylor flipped the ball behind his head to a wide-open teammate setting up an easy deuce for the Cardinals.

Two players, who habitually play like gangbusters, Caleb Blakely, 13 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks, along with Mateo Carbonel, 13 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals, caused Gentry lots of problems in the full-court press and in the rebounding battle.

Sam Wells scored 4 points and presented a constant thorn in the side of the Pioneers as Farmington racked up 13 steals in the first half rolling to an 18-5 first quarter lead which they upped to 36-15 at halftime. As if that quartet wasn’t doing enough damage to their opponent’s game plan, senior Nathan Monroe scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half making Gentry realize they better not leave him unguarded.

Gentry’s 6-feet-4 center Garrison Jackson used a power move to convert a basket and draw a foul. His old-fashioned 3-point play cut the Pioneer deficit to 20, but Farmington got the next two baskets as the third quarter wore down. Wells bolted past his man to the hoop for a layup and Blakely scored on a putback. Jonathon Corter knocked down a jumper in the lane to make the score 52-30 at the end of the third quarter.

Monroe took a cross-court pass from Layne Taylor and drilled a trifecta and then drove the lane finishing with his left hand as he scored the first two baskets of the fourth for Farmington. Jackson hit a turnaround shot to make it 57-32 but Blakely added to his personal highlight reel by taking a lead pass from Wells and slamming the ball through the hoop.

His next play was also spectacular. Blakely caught an alley-oop lob on the run and gave the ball up to Layne Taylor filling the left wing for a layup.

Bart Walker led Gentry with 12 points, Brayden Feathers scored 11 and Jackson added 8.