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| Nick Varner scores on a first-half tip-in for two of his 10 points (photo by Jim Lindquist) |
But thanks to a blistering, 57-point second half by Rochester John Marshall the Tigers left their home court with a disappointing 85-70 loss to their section rivals.
Farmington started the night with an aggressive defensive effort that forced Rocket turnovers and led to easy baskets. The Tigers pushed their lead to an eye-popping 18-3 on five straight points by Darren Beenken to send a raucous crowd led by the student Cat Pack into a frenzy.
Minutes later Beenken went to the bench after aggravating an old ankle injury and gradually the tide began to turn.
"It was a combination of things," Tiger coach Shane Wyandt said. "When Darren went out, we looked a little confused at times and we didn't react well to our rotations...But the big thing was that we didn't shoot the ball well at all. Our go-to guys couldn't make a shot."
The Rockets never got closer than six points in the first half and the Tigers led 39-29 at intermission but the shooting chart caught Wyandt's attention at the break.
"You take away the lay-ups we got in transition and a couple of put-backs and we didn't have many makes," he said. "We knew we had to do better in the second half or we would be in trouble."
Eli Rockett scored on a rebound on the first possession of the second half but from there until the final buzzer, JM was on fire.
The Rockets took their first lead at 49-47 and built it to double digits before a trio of three-pointers by Zach Speikers, a basket by Johnny Dittman and two free throws by Rockett evened the count at 68-68 with 4:12 to play.
The rest was a nightmare for the home team. JM scored the next 17 points with the only Farmington points coming on a lay-up by Charles Anderson in the closing seconds.
John Marshall which shot just 33 percent in the opening half, made 57 percent of their attempts after intermission.
"JM was more aggressive in the second half and we didn't play with the defensive intensity and focus we did in the first half," Wyandt said. "We didn't take care of the ball very and we continued to shoot poorly.
"This was a big game for us. They (JM) are a good team and they're going to get better. This one got away from us."
Free throw shooting was another area where the Tigers self-destructed. They were in the bonus at the 11:28 mark of the second half but made just seven of 17 chances after intermission.
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| Johnny Dittman scored a team-high 12 points (photo by Johnny Dittman) |
Rockett and Varner topped the Farmington rebound charts with 11 boards apiece.
The Tigers get another chance against a Section 1 team Tuesday when Rochester Mayo pays a visit to Tiger Gym. Tip-off is 7:30.
"Without over-analyzing this game, we need to shoot the ball better," Wyandt said. "We are better shooters than we showed tonight."
