(photo by Jim Lindquist)
After winning five of seven games with just two games to play in the regular season it looked as though Farmington had built some momentum for a post-season run.
But after closing the season with back-to-back losses to Chanhassen and Red Wing the momentum train had ground to a halt. In Wednesday night's 88-54 Section 1AAAA loss at Rocheter Mayo it went completely off the tracks.
The fifth-seeded Tigers beat the fourth-seeded Spartans 72-70 earlier in the year but the rematch was no contest. Mayo scored at will in running up a 49-23 halftime lead on the way to a semifinal date with top-seeded Lakeville North.
Farmington played much more competitively in the second half but by then the outcome had long since been decided. The 34 point-loss was the largest of the year for the Tigers.
"I'm not sure we ever got off the bus and Mayo was fired up and ready to go," Tiger coach Shane Wyandt said. "We played very soft and they were extremely physical and aggressive.
"Defensively we allowed them to get a bunch of uncontested jumpers early and they knocked them down. That gave them confidence so that later they were making everything, contested or not."
Mayo shot a blistering 63 percent from the field, including a 46 percent mark from behind the three-point line. The Tigers shot just 37 percent from the floor and were outscored 22-8 from the foul line.
Darren Beenken scored 16 points and Nick Varner and Austin Bassett added 12 and nine respectively to pace the Tiger offense.
"All around it was just a bad game for us and one in which Mayo played really well," Wyandt said.
Farmington finished the 2011-12 season with a 10-17 record, 6-8 in Missota Conference play.
