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| Mac Bassett 17 points (photo by Jim Lindquist) |
The loss dropped the Tigers to 4-3 after the first round of conference play with the three defeats coming by a total of 11 points. Shakopee is 5-2 in league play.
"The game wasn't lost on that last possession," Farmington coach Shane Wyandt said. "We did what we wanted to do defensively.
"For 30 minutes of the game we controlled the game handily, but for the other six we were a different team."
The Tigers got off to another fast start, leading by as may as 15 points in the opening half. But an ominous five-point swing at the close of the half gave the visitors some life heading to the break.
Farmington led by 13 with less than a minute to go and worked the ball for a final shot. They got the one they wanted but missed a lay-up and the Sabers threw in a three-pointer at the buzzer to cut the deficit to 10 at 39-29.
The six-plus minute stretch Wyandt pointed to came in the second half and started with the home team with a still seemingly comfortable 55-42 lead. It ended with a 14-0 Shakopee run and a one-point defcit.
"They really hurt us on the offensive boards there," Wyandt said. "No. 22 (John Burlager) was all over the place."
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| Eli Rockett 17 points, 9 rebounds (photo by Jim Lindquist) |
In the extra four-minute period, Shakopee scored the first four points and looked content to sit on the ball before a turnover and a three-pointer from the right corner by Bassett pulled Farmington to within a point.
The Sabers made one of two free throws to lead by two with the clock winding down but the Tigers' Zach Speikers stepped up and drilled a three-pointer from the left wing to send the home crowd into a frenzy.
Shakopee called time out to set up a final play with 9.6 seconds remaining and Wyandt said his team had it well-defended.
"They wanted to get the ball to Burlager and Darren (Beenken) did a good job of denying him the ball," he said. "They just made the shot at the end."
The Tigers committed an acceptable 10 turnovers in the contest but seven came in the second half and most of that number during the Shakopee's 14-0 blitz.
"It wasn't the number of mistakes," Wyandt said, "but it was when they occurred and how bad they were. We know these games are all going to be close and those kind of mistakes are going to make the difference."
Bassett and Eli Rockett each scored 17 points to top the Tiger scoring charts with Speikers right behind with 15. Rockett and Nick Varner led in rebounds with nine and seven respectively. Point guard Johnny Dittman had four assists.
Farmington (10-8) returns to action Monday with a non-conference home game with Waseca. Friday they begin the second round of Missota Conference play with a home contest against Red Wing.
