Tigers down Century; Beenken hits 1000

Darren Beenken 7th Tiger to score 1000 points (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Farmington shot a blistering 72 percent from the field and Darren Beenken joined the elite 1000-point club as the Tigers downed Rochester Century in the quarterfinals of the Section 1AAAA tournament Wednesday night at Tiger Gym.

The opening round win vaulted fourth-seeded Farmington into a semifinal match-up at top-seeded Lakeville North on Saturday.

"It was really important that we dictated the pace of the game and got off to a fast start tonight," Tiger coach Shane Wyandt said. "When they beat us at their place during the season they packed back in a zone and we let them dictate the tempo."

The contest was competitive early before the Tigers used a 19-0 run to race to a 29-7 lead. During the blitz, Beenken canned a pair of three pointers and Eli Rockett posted back-to-back three-point plays the old fashioned way.

"It wasn't that we just got hot shooting the ball," Wyandt said. "We were attacking their zone, setting the right picks and getting the shots we wanted.

"We also controlled the boards which allowed us to get out in transition. When we do this things we are going to be successful."

Zach Speikers 15 points (photo by Jim Lindquist)

The Tigers hit an amazing 17 of 26 shots (65 percent) from the floor in the opening period and shot just about that well from behind the three-point line where they drained seven of 11. All of that added up to a 46-34 lead at intermission.

During the first half blitz, Beenken scored his 11th point to become just the seventh Farmington boys' player to eclipse the 1000-point mark. The last two Tigers to reach that number were Josh Zitzmann and Jake Lippert in 2009.

"Darren has had a good senior year and he has really been coming on strong offensively the past few weeks," Wyandt said. "Having players reach those milestones is good not only for the individual players but our program as well."

The Farmington lead yo-yoed between 10 and 13 points most of the second half until the Tigers extended it down the stretch by patiently attacking the Century press and getting lay-ups as a reward.

"We took good care of the basketball (13 turnovers) and we shared the ball," Wyandt said. "Those things and our defensive rebounding were big keys for us."

Eli Rockett goes up for two of his 23 points (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Beenken finished with a game-high 27 points on 11 of 18 shooting and Rockett made 10 of 12 shots from the field in netting 23. Zach Speikers canned six of eight tries and added 15 points.

Nick Varner was a perfect 4-4 from the floor for nine points and Mac Bassett made all three of his shots for seven. Rockett and Speikers each grabbed five rebounds. Johnny Dittman led in assists with six; Rockett had four.

Saturday's semifinal game with North will be a tough assignment for the Tigers who fell to the Panthers 84-63 back in December.

"They are one of the best defensive teams in the state," Wyandt said. "They really get after you. We'll need to keep our composure and take care of the ball like we did tonight."