FARMINGTON — There will eventually come a time when Matthew Wilson will have to battle his way through gadget defenses designed to focus on the Farmington senior.
Bentonville West sophomore Shania Wilson pulls down a pass on Monday against Farmington at Cardinal Arena in Farmington.
(By: Jason Ivester)
Until then, Wilson has proven he can score a lot of points and in a hurry. He had 18 of his team’s 22 points in the first quarter and finished with 27 as the Cardinals blew past Bentonville West, 74-45, in nonconference action Monday night at Cardinal Arena.
Farmington 74, Bentonville West 45
West^3^14^14^14^—^45
Farmington^22^23^21^8^—^74
West (2-5): Hornsby 11, Barron 6, Larsen 4, Conner 4, Rutherford 4, Wilmot 4, White 3, Blackburn 3, Hill 2, Lee 2, Young 2.
Farmington (7-1): Wilson 27, Montez 20, Fenton 6, Hill 6, Staten 3, Sharp 3, Waggle 2, Watts 2, Patrick 2, Killion 2, Maxwell 1.
“Most of the teams we’ve played so far, they’ve just played their base defense and nothing like fully denying me,” Wilson said. “So far, it’s been easy, but I know it’s going to get harder once we get into conference play.”
Wilson, who signed last month with Delta State, scored 10 unanswered points in the first quarter to give Farmington (7-1) a double-digit lead for good. He then ended the quarter with a buzzer-beater, hitting a long 3-pointer in front of West coach Greg White that gave the Cardinals a 19-3 cushion.
He later added to his total with back-to-back 3-pointers, including one where he stood on the cardinal’s beak on the court floor and drained it from there. Those two shots gave him 24 as the Cardinals led 45-17 at halftime.
“Matt Wilson is the best player in Northwest Arkansas,” White said. “I’ve been telling people that all year, and he’d be the best player in our league.
“I told our guys that if we could hold him under 25, we would have a chance. He had 24 at halftime. We knew how good he is, and he’ll be a tremendous player at the next level.”
Skyler Montez added 20 points for the Cardinals and capped his night off with a dunk to make the score 58-25, and Farmington went on to lead 66-31 at the end of the third quarter.
“Skyler shot the ball well and had seven rebounds at the half,” Farmington coach Beau Thompson said. “He was very active, and when we get contributions — 15 or 20 points from him and 10-15 from Cade Fenton — we’re pretty hard to guard because they have to guard Wilson so far out. It stretches everything.”
Gabe Hornsby finished with 11 points for West (2-5), which dropped its third straight game.
Girls
Farmington 59, Bentonville West 25
Farmington started the second quarter with a 14-0 run and eventually outscored West 25-4 over that eight-minute span to turn the game into a rout.
Madisyn Pense scored 18 in the first half and finished with 27 to lead Farmington (8-1), while Makenna Vanzant added 13. Emma Wood paced West (0-7) with eight points.
Sports on 12/13/2016
