by James Tate
High scoring first quarter
Farmington’s junior forwards Jayden Haskell and Ethan Atkinson scored nine points each in the opening period. The Warriors’ junior forward Malachi Spencer scored five points to keep the game close. The Phoenix led 22-15 after the first quarter.
Warriors’ senior center Jaxon Shaw opened the second quarter with a layup to close the score at 22-17. Spencer started to heat up for Weber by making his next two shots, a three-pointer and a jumper to even the score 22-22 with 6:26 left in the quarter.
Farmington then reeled off six straight points with Haskell making a layup, and senior Paul Beattie making the next two jump shots. The score now stood at 28-22 Farmington with 5:12 until halftime. The quarter saw Beattie take over and score 11 points for Farmington. Spencer again poured in five points and his total of 10 would be all he would score in the game. The half ended with the Phoenix leading 38-33
Phoenix gets control of the game in the second half
The third quarter started with Atkinson making a layup for the Phoenix and giving them a seven-point lead 40-33. After a made Weber free throw, Haskell scored on a layup to make the score 42-34 with 7:05 on the clock. The game stayed 42-34 until Warrior’s sophomore Tyler Payne made a three-point shot with 5:10 left in the quarter.
Farmington started to pull away and go on a 10-1 run led by Beattie and senior Cole Johnson each scoring six points. Johnson ended the quarter with a spectacular jumper with two seconds left. The quarter ended with the Phoenix leading 60-52. Warriors’ senior Griffyn Doughty scored six points in the quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Farmington’s lead grew to 10 points after junior Braden Larsen made a driving layup. With 3:40 left in the game, Atkinson made a three-point shot after Payne tried to keep the Warriors close with two scoring layups. The score stood at 68-56 at this point.
Warriors senior Hunter Schenck, the region’s leading scorer, then made a clutch three-point shot and a short jumper to close the score at 68-61 with 2:52 left. Farmington’s Johnson closed the game out with a jump shot with 1:59 remaining to make the score 70-61. Then Johnson calmly made two free throws with 1:14 left for a 72-64 Phoenix lead.
After both teams traded made jumpers, fouls, and made free throws the final score was Farmington 77 Weber 69.
Outstanding performers
Farmington’s Beattie led all scorers with 21 points. The Phoenix also saw Atkinson score 19, Haskell 18 and Johnson 12 points in the win.
Schenck scored a team-high 20 points for the Warriors. Weber also added Payne’s 11, and Doughty and Spencer’s 10 points.
photo courtesy James Tate of Warriors’ Jaxon Shaw and Phoenix’s Ethan Atkinson