FARMINGTON -- Midway through the second quarter, Gravette appeared well on their way to victory with a commanding 11-point lead over Farmington, but the Lions' lead didn't last long.
Farmington stormed back before halftime, closing the deficit to two points, thanks to a 13-4 run to close out the second quarter. A three-point barrage from Skyler Barnes and strong post play by Mac Spears helped the Cardinals pull away in the third quarter in a 59-46 win over the Lions at Meryl Massie Gymnasium.
"I thought we started very poor, but I thought we finished the first quarter great and the second quarter great," Farmington coach Beau Thompson said. "That's what kept us within two points at half and kept us within striking distance to give us a chance."
Gravette (10-4, 3-1) was an entirely different team after intermission, both on the court and in the way it performed. Pierce was issued a technical foul as the teams were heading to the locker rooms at halftime and did not play in the second half. And Troutner also missed the majority of the second half after arguing a call with officials.
"The whole second half, my two best players are on the bench," Gravette coach Dustin Peters said. "That was the whole difference in the game, because those two guys are not doing what they're supposed to do. It wasn't anything else, but we'll learn from it."
With a game plan focused on slowing down Terence Pierce -- who did score 12 points in the first half -- Farmington (7-8, 4-1) had to quickly adjust strategy in the third quarter. The Cardinals followed with a huge third quarter, outscoring Gravette, 24-6.
"To be honest, it took us a few minutes without Pierce in the game," Thompson said. "It took us a couple of possessions to figure out what we were going to do defensively. But we played that zone and went big and wide in it and had a big third quarter."
Matt Thomas finished with 20 points for Farmington and Barnes added 13. Pierce and Otto Troutner led Gravette with 12 and 10, respectively, despite playing just half the game.
GIRLS
Farmington 57
Gravette 40
Hailey Maxwell scored a game-high 21 points as Farmington built a double-digit lead in the first quarter and controlled the contest the rest of the way. Tichina Scales added 10 points for the Lady Cardinals (11-4, 4-1), who won their second straight in the 4A-1 Conference.
Sports on 01/22/2014