19 points, 7 rebounds
(photo by Jim Lindquist)
For the second time this season Farmington and Northfield had to work overtime to determine a winner.
Unlike the first meeting between the two teams when the Tigers prevailed by a point, the Raiders got the upper-hand in a 63-59 victory Friday night, Feb. 18, in Northfield.
"It was a typical Northfield-Farmington game," Tiger coach Shane Wyandt said. "We had a triple overtime game with them last year and every one seems to be close. They seem to be our biggest conference rival."
The game was close for the first half with the Tigers taking a slim 26-23 lead to intermission.
Things started to turn early in the second half when Alex Michels picked up his third foul, leaving Northfield's 6-8 center Otto Pfefferle room to operate in the post. The Raiders took advantage of the mismatch and then used some dead-eye outside shooting to pull away to a 13-point lead at one point.
The Tigers were still down eight with fewer than five minutes to play when Michels picked up his fourth and fifth fouls to complicate things even more.
But Farmington found its way back and when Austin Bassett drained two free throws with 17 seconds remaining in regulation the Tigers led by a point.
Pfefferle made one of two from the stripe with three seconds to play to force overtime where the Raiders outscored their guests 6-2 to even the season series at a game apiece.
"We worked hard and made a nice comeback to get in a position to win," Wyandt said. "In the end the difference was we shot only 37 percent from the field. When you do that, it's an uphill battle."
Darren Beenken led Farmington in scoring with 19 points and also pulled down seven rebounds. Michels had 13 points and a team-high 11 boards for a double-double. Bassett hit double figures with 11 and also handed out three assists. Josh Ruthenbeck chipped in with three assists and three steals. Pfefferle had a game-high 28 points to lead the Raiders.
Tuesday (Feb. 22) the Tigers entertain No. 4 Chaska and Friday they travel to New Prague to take on the Trojans in another Missota Conference tilt.
