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| Zach Speikers season-high 14 points (photo by Jim Lindquist) |
After edging Spring Lake Park (No. 10 Class 3A) in overtime Tuesday, Farmington was no match for Lakeville North (No. 10 Class 4A) Friday night in an 84-63 loss.
The win was unbeaten North's fourth straight. The loss snapped the Tigers' three-game win streak and left them with a 3-2 mark.
"When we ran our stuff we did some things offensively," Farmington coach Shane Wyandt said, "but the disappointing thing was how we let them dictate the flow of the game.
"When North would get on a little run, we would start jacking up three's with no rebounders in sight. We talked before hand about not playing their game and we did exactly the opposite."
North, behind the brilliant play of senior PJ Macura (18 first half points), jumped to an early 24-16 lead before three-pointers by Zach Speikers and Mac Bassett and baskets by Speikers, NIck Varner and Eli Rockett pulled the visitors even at 28-28 with 5:39 to play.
Th rest of the half was a nightmare with the defending Section 1AAAA champions, forcing a rash of Tiger turnovers in an 18-6 run that all but put the game on ice. Farmington finished the half with a telling 15 turnovers.
Rockett scored two early baskets in the second half to get the visitors within eight at 46-38 but then Macura, a NCAA Division I recruit, went on a personal 10-2 run to extend the Panther lead. North's final 21-point bulge was its biggest of the night.
"They (North) have a very good basketball team with some outstanding individuals," Wyandt said. "When you get down to the difference in the two teams, they have been in and won a lot of big games and we are in the process of learning how to do that.
"We have to get back to work and from the looks of things, get healthy for our next two games before the holidays."
Wyandt was referring to the status of Bassett and Varner, both of whom left the floor with injuries. Bassett hurt his elbow early in the second half and did not return; Varner appeared to suffer a shoulder injury late in the contest.
Macura was a one-man wrecking crew for the Panthers, scoring 36 points in a variety of ways, including long three-pointers, mid-range jumpres, deft post moves and acrobatic tip-ins.
Rockett put together an 18-point, 11-rebound night to led the Tiger effort. Speikers had his best scoring night of the season with 14.
The Tigers make it three road games in a row Tuesday when they travel to Rochester Century before returning home Friday to entertain St. Paul Harding.
