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| Mac Bassett scored a game-high 22 points (photo by Jim Lindquist) |
"We are still struggling to put a complete game together," Tiger coach Shane Wyandt said. "At the beginning of the year our offense was clicking pretty well in most games but the defense was inconsistent.
"I've been encouraged by our team defense the last couple of games but our offense has been inconsistent."
The offense really had its troubles in the first half against the Huskies. A feisty and physical Owatonna defense forced the visitors into 14 first half turnovers and when they did get shots, they didn't fall. The Tigers had a season-low 15 points at intermission and trailed by the same number at 30-15.
"We challenged them as individuals and as a team at half time and they responded," Wyandt said. "We still did not execute nearly as well as we wanted to but our effort and toughness were drastically improved and that gave us a chance to come back...It just ended up being a little too much to come back from."
Farmington dominated the second period and still had a chance in the final minute, trailing by three points with 11 seconds to play. Mac Bassett connected for a late two for the final points of the night.
"I'm very proud of the guys effort in the second half on the road in a game like this," Wyandt said.
"There was certainly was no guarantee of making a three at the end. I think Mac got caught up in the moment.... In a game like that you can point to a hundred things besides that which could've made the difference."
Bassett carried most of the offensive load for the Tigers, finishing with a game-high 22 points. Eli Rockett had nine points and a team-high nine rebounds. Darren Beenken added six points and eight boards.
Farmington has its final tune-up before next week's Missota Conference opener Saturday at North St. Paul.
"It is my hope that we can learn a lot about ourselves from the Owatonna game and start to put full games together with the kind of effort we had in the second half," Wyandt said.
