FARMINGTON -- Farmington used a barrage a 3-pointers to remain unbeaten at Cardinal Arena and take over the top spot in the 4A-1 Conference with a 61-52 victory against Huntsville.
The Cardinals won their fifth straight game and improved to 11-0 at home. More importantly, they sit alone atop the 4A-1 Conference standings with a 7-0 mark and a 16-6 overall record while the Eagles fall to 14-7, 6-1.
"They're comfortable here. This is where we play and practice every day," said Farmington coach Beau Thompson. "We've done a good job of protecting home court and, if we are going to win this league, we're probably going to have to win them all at home.
"We have some tough games ahead, but we're sitting by ourselves (in the league standings) and couldn't be sitting any better than we are right now."
Farmington took its first lead on a 3-pointer by Danny Valenzuela early in the second half. The teams traded buckets and Huntsville grabbed a 29-28 lead on a 3-pointer by Sean McCone midway through the third quarter.
But that's when the Cardinals, sparked by Valenzuela, sank five consecutive 3-pointers to take command with a 40-32 advantage with 1:43 remaining in the third quarter. Valenzuela swished a pair of 3-pointers to begin the perfect streak from the perimeter. It was capped off by a rare 3-pointer by Tony Mayo.
They never trailed again.
"We knew they were good and that's a tough team to play on the road," said Huntsville coach Grant Myrick. "We were 6-0. They were 6-0. We thought we could slow (Cards top scorer Will) Pridmore down and did a pretty good job in the first half, but (Valenzuela) is the one who really hurt us. Even when we were guarding him, he still drained them.
"They all shot it well. I called timeout and said they aren't going to keep shooting it like that ... but they did. They beat us. They really outplayed us in the second half."
Thompson called Valenzuela "sneaky good" and the "heartbeat" of his team. The 5-foot-8 senior guard had 18 points, including four 3-pointers. "That kid is everything we want in a Farmington player. He plays with a lot of passion and his engine is what helps get the crowd going," Thompson said.
The Eagles jumped out to a 9-2 lead and led 14-9 at the end of the first quarter. They put together an 8-2 run, highlighted by 3-pointers from McCone and Marpin Bokbwij, to take a 22-14 lead before Farmington scored the final six points of the half to trim the margin to 22-20 at intermission.
Following the 3-point spurt, Huntsville closed the gap to 56-51 with a 7-0 run that was capped by Bokbwij's 3-pointer. But Pridmore scored the final five points of the game to seal the victory and finish with 18 points.
Bokbwij led the Eagles with 18 points, while McCone had 17 and Caleb Welchel had 12 points.
Huntsville 14 8 16 13 -- 51
Farmington 9 11 25 16 -- 61
Huntsville (14-7, 6-1): Bokbwij 18, McCone 17, Welchel 12, Mayes 4.
Farmington (16-6, 7-0): Pridmore 18, Valenzuela 18, Mayo 9, Montez 6, Shelley 4, Whitmore 4, Watson 2.
Girls
Farmington 55, Huntsville 27
A 9-0 run to finish the first half broke open a tight game to give the Lady Cardinals' separation in what quickly turned into a 28-point rout.
Huntsville (7-14, 3-4) led 5-2 to open the game before Farmington (17-4, 6-1) stormed back to take a 12-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Lady Eagles stayed within striking distance and trailed 21-19 on a 3-pointer by Grace Mayes midway through the second quarter.
But a 3-pointer by Trinity Johnson triggered a 9-0 run to give the Lady Cardinals a 30-19 lead at the half. Farmington outscored Huntsville 25-8 in the second half behind a game-high 16 points by sophomore Tori Kersey. Alexis Roach chipped in 12 points and Makenna Vanzant added 11.
Huntsville was paced by Mayes, a sophomore, who led her team with 13 points.
Huntsville 9 10 5 3 -- 27
Farmington 12 18 11 14 -- 55
Huntsville (7-14, 3-4): Mayes 13, Drewyor 8, Poor 3, Thomas 3.
Farmington (17-4, 6-1): Kersey 16, Roach 12, Vanzant 11, Johnson 9, Culpepper 4, Tidwell 2, Pense 1.
Sports on 01/23/2019