Boys B-Ball: Tigers make statement in Rochester

Mac Bassett scored a season high 20 points

Prior to the start of the season, those in the know rated Lakeville North as the consensus team to beat in Section 1AAAA with Rochester John Marshall considered as the Panthers' chief obstacle on their way to a state tournament bid.

But after Farmington's impressive 79-69 win over the Rockets Thursday night in Rochester, those experts might do well to re-assess their thinking a bit.

Farmington (3-0) used its balanced scoring attack, a patient half-court game and sticky defense to build a 38-30 halftime lead and then put together a 41-point second half to seal the deal.

"We talked a lot about playing fast but not getting in a hurry." Tiger coach Shane Wyandt said.  "We pushed our pace on them most of the night but didn't take bad shots off the break.

"I really liked our effort from start to finish as this was certainly our most complete game of the year.  Our starters again were all pretty steady. I thought they were also much better decision makers this game."

Four different Tigers cracked double figures in the contest with Eli Rockett and Mac Bassett leading the scoring parade with 23 and 20 points respectively. Zach Speikers had 13, Nick Varner added 11 and Jordan DeCroock chipped in with seven off the bench.

Varner had another big night on the glass with a team-high 12 rebounds and also added three assists and a block. Rockett pulled down eight boards. Tyler VanWinkle finished with seven rebounds and Speikers had six. Johnny Dittman handed out a team-best five assists.

Wyandt said Bassett put together his best game of the season with the 20 points just part of his contribution.

"Mac really was all over the place on both ends of the floor," he said. "He played really good defense and was a big spark for us with hustle plays."

Jordan DeCroock 7 points off the bench (file photo by Jim Lindquist)

Wyandt also liked what he saw in the play of VanWinkle and DeCroock off the bench.

"They both gave us very solid minutes off the bench, " he said. "Tyler did a nice job defending some taller posts and Jordan was awesome with his energy and hustle. He was a huge spark plug running the floor."

The Tigers go from the section frying pan into the fire Tuesday night when Lakeville North with all-state guard/forward PJ Macura pay a visit to Tiger Gym for a non-conference showdown.

"We really enjoyed last night but now we have to move on and get ready for North," Wyandt said.  "It's early so we still have to keep things in perspective and keep working and improving."