Harlem Globetrotter antics part of game plan

Farmington boys romp 83-30 at Gravette

GRAVETTE — The 83-30 final margin showcased a runaway victory for Farmington’s boys, but hidden within their 4A-1 Conference rout of Gravette were some Layne Taylor Harlem Globetrotter highlights.

In addition the highlight reel included defensive gems.

Cameron Crisman, Layne Taylor and Ayden Lester took turns dogging Lion standout guard Gunnar Woolard, hounding him all over the court.

“Those kids did a good job of trying to jam him and prevent him from catching it full court. All that was really good and then offensively we scored a lot of points,” said Farmington coach Johnny Taylor.

Woolard went scoreless, which allowed the Cardinals (18-2, 4-0 4A-1) to jump out to a 17-2 lead over Gravette (10-4, 4-1) in Lion Arena.

“We did a really good job guarding him tonight. Cameron Crisman did a great job. Ayden Lester went in and gave us some good minutes, then it’s really a team effort. When you’re guarding a really good player, you do it with all five [guys on the court] so we stopped him,” Layne Taylor said.

Layne Taylor twice arranged for Mason Simpson to get an open 3-point look in spectacular fashion. Coming out of a Lions’ time-out, Layne Taylor brought the ball up to the jump circle, then nonchalantly passed off the dribble between his legs to Simpson standing behind him at the top of the key. Simpson buried the first of his five treys behind Layne Taylor’s screen, giving Farmington a 7-0 lead.

“That’s part of our system. I kind of know where everyone’s running on the fast break. I know where everyone’s going to be at and Mason can really shoot it so I set him up to make a shot,” Layne Taylor said.

Layne Taylor said the Harlem Globetrotter antics don’t merely represent showmanship; it’s an effective part of the game plan.

“It’s kind of hard to see me pass whenever I just drop it between my legs behind my back. If I turned around someone might turn around, so it looks cool but it also gets the job done,” Layne Taylor said.

Farmington owned a 21-4 advantage after one period of play and the pair hooked up again in the second quarter. This time Layne Taylor stopped his dribble, pivoted and pitched the ball back to Simpson, who tickled the twine, expanding Farmington’s lead to 36-10 with 4:49 left in the first half.

Late in the half Gravette left Crisman unguarded and he promptly stuck a three, replicating an earlier opportunity he cashed in on when left open.

“I don’t know what they had going on there, Crisman knocked a few down,” Layne Taylor said.

The Cardinals put on a track meet, racing to a 48-15 halftime lead.

Simpson was the only other Cardinal to reach double figures with 15. Johnny Taylor emptied his bench after the Cardinals scored 14 unanswered points to begin the third quarter. Layne Taylor notched nine points in less than three minutes, stretching Farmington’s lead to 62-15. Layne Taylor wound up with a game-high 28 points.

“It was my dad’s birthday today so I wanted to come out and shoot it good for him,” Layne Taylor said, nodding to his father, Farmington coach Johnny Taylor. “Happy birthday, dad, I appreciate everything you did. I’m glad you coach me.”

Nine Farmington players scored at least two points as they played unselfish basketball. Friday’s game marked the first meeting between the long-time conference rivals this season with at least one more league matchup at Cardinal Arena in the regular season finale scheduled for Feb. 9. Next year Farmington goes to 5A.

Jace King scored five points to lead Gravette.

(Left photo) Simpson buried this 3-pointer from the top of the key behind a screen and assist by Taylor. Taylor brought the ball up guarded by DeWitt, then sent a pass between his legs to Simpson behind him. The ploy replicates an old Harlem Globetrotter trick and worked just like it’s drawn up.

(Right photo) Gravette defenders DeWitt (left) and Kyle Murphy realize too late they’ve been tricked as Taylor sends a pass between his legs to Simpson behind him. The Harlem Globetrotters made the play famous and Simpson executed beautifully by drilling a wide-open 3-pointer. Simpson made a total of five threes, scoring 15 points in Farmington’s 83-30 blowout.

Photos by Mark Humphrey/Enterprise-Leader (Left photo) Farmington senior Layne Taylor protects the ball while advancing with a left-handed dribble as Gravette senior Samuel DeWitt reaches across his chest with Cardinal senior Mason Simpson in the background. DeWitt didn’t know it yet, but Taylor was about to take advantage of his aggressiveness and arrange for Simpson to get an open 3-pointer using a Harlem Globetrotter tactic. Farmington handed the Lions their first conference loss of the boys basketball season, on Friday, Jan. 5.