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| Eli Rockett scored 12 points against Shakopee (photo by Jim Lindquist) |
The Sabers who stand alone atop the conference standings with a perfect 7-0 record used their deliberate half-court offense and aggressive zone defense to hand Farmington its second straight loss. The Tigers are 4-3 in league play and 14-5 overall.
"There's no positive way to spin tonight," coach Wyandt said. "We couldn't make a shot. We didn't rebound and most of all, the effort wasn't there.
"On one possession in the second half, the ball was on the floor three times and three different Shakopee players hit the floor going after it. Not one of our guys did. It was a bad night all around."
Shakopee led from its opening possession and held a 27-17 edge by the halftime break, thanks largely to ice cold Farmington shooting (6 for 24) and the ability to make three-point shots (6).
"They have a couple of big post players and guys who can shoot the three," Wyandt said. "They'll be content to play that deliberate half-court game all night. The best way to beat them is to rebound and pick up the pace...and we didn't do that."
The Sabers started the second half on a 15-8 run and kept pouring it on as the Farmington shooting numbers continued to move toward the frigid air temperature outside.
Farmington made just five of 22 shots after intermission and ended the night hitting an anemic 24 percent of its shots (11 for 46).
Eli Rockett finished with 12 points to lead the Farmington scorers but no other Tiger managed more than five. Leading scorer Zach Speikers had only one field goal and didn't score in his team's 12-point second half.
"Not being able to practice because of school being closed didn't help," Wyandt said, "but Shakopee was in the same boat."
In a odd turn in the schedule the Tigers travel to Shakopee on Friday night to open the second round of the Missota Conference round-robin schedule.
