FARMINGTON -- Turn out the lights, the party's over.
Farmington said goodbye to Myrl Massie Gymnasium on Friday, bidding a fond farewell to varsity basketball games at its longtime home with the new Cardinal Arena set to open across town next month.
How They Scored
Girls
Farmington 53, Prairie Grove 42
Prairie Grove^6^11^6^19^—^42
Farmington^8^16^14^15^—^53
Prairie Grove: T. Hartin 14, Lopez 9, Bartholomew 8, Reynolds 4, M. Hartin 2, Stone 2, Cox 2, Doss 1.
Farmington (7-1): Hamley 11, Duchanois 9, Tah. Hopkins 9, O’Connell 8, McPherson 6, Tay. Hopkins 6, Brown 2, Smith 2.
Boys
Farmington 53, Prairie Grove 42
Prairie Grove^6^19^19^9^—^53
Farmington^17^16^20^13^—^66
Prairie Grove: Heltemes 18, Soehner 11, Strong 8, Galligan 7, Pursell 5, Disney 2, Smith 2.
Farmington (7-1): Mueller 26, Wilson 13, Thomas 13, Barnes 8, Spears 3, Oxford 3.
And both the Cardinals and Lady Cardinals went out in style, posting a pair of wins over longtime Highway 62 rival Prairie Grove.
"Anytime you've got Farmington and Prairie Grove it's a big deal," Farmington athletic director and former girls basketball coach Brad Blew said. "But then you add in us closing down the gym.
"This has been such a special place with so many special people. There's even people on that Prairie Grove side who went to Farmington. So it's going to be bittersweet to see it go. There was a lot of great memories made here. But it's time to start a new tradition."
In the opener, six different Lady Cardinals scored at least six points in a balanced scoring attack in a 53-42 win. But it was a key run right after halftime dominated on the defensive end that led the way, as Farmington scored the first 12 points of the third quarter and pulled away for the 11-point win.
"Our kids came out with a lot of energy," Farmington girls basketball coach Brad Johnson said. "We knew they would be amped up and sometimes when that happens, it's hard to play well.
"But I think they settled down and did some good things. We knew Prairie Grove would come back and make a run at us and they're a good team that's getting better. But I thought we were able to go to our depth a little bit and we had a lot of different kids step up."
Tori Hamley led the Lady Cardinals with 11 points, including eight before intermission. Kristi Duchanois and Tahlon Hopkins each added nine.
Boys
Farmington 66, Prairie Grove 53
The Cardinals (7-1) left little doubt in their final game at Massie Gym, buiding a seven-point lead at intermission and pulling away with a strong offensive effort from their starting group after the half.
Jeremy Mueller scored a game-high 26 points, 14 of which came after halftime. Mueller connected on two of Farmington's three 3-pointers after the break and Prairie Grove couldn't keep close as the game wore on.
Matt Thomas added 13 for Farmington.
Sports on 12/13/2014