FARMINGTON — Seth Stanley helped Rogers Heritage build a 20-point halftime lead, but the 6-foot-5 senior also canned four free throws in the final minute to hold off a late Farmington rally on Friday night at Cardinal Arena.
Rogers Heritage 75, Farmington 68
Rogers Heritage 28 23 14 10 — 75
Farmington 23 8 15 22 —68
Rogers Heritage (7-2): Stanley 34, Olsen 19, Peek 8, Carpenter 7, Breedlove 3, Kimball 2, Manuel 2.
Farmington (6-6):J. Montez 17, S. Montez 17, Valenzuala 11, Killon 8, Staten 5, Maxwell 3, Waggle 3, Downs 3, Mayo 1.
Stanley finished with a game-high 34 points, but his four free throws in the final minutes sealed the deal in a 75-68 Heritage win.
Heritage (7-2) enjoyed a red-hot shooting first half keyed by Stanley, who scored 20 in the first quarter. The War Eagles were in control 51-31 at halftime and 65-46 after three quarters. But Farmington (6-6) pulled within 71-66 with a minute left and Stanley was sent back into the game after Heritage coach Tom Olsen had emptied the bench.
Stanley, who was 10 of 10 from the foul line for the game, made four straight to put the game away in the final 51 seconds.
Olsen was pleased with his team’s performance for the most part but also credited Farmington for continuing to fight and making shots late.
“We were really special offensively in the first half and for most of the game until the latter part,” Olsen said. “The kids are really buying into what we’re wanting to do offensively and really have a trust factor in each other and making extra passes and we’re getting easy shots.
“Tonight was real special, 50 points in a half. One year we didn’t average 50 in a game. It’s a season and we’ve got to get some other guys ready to play at the end of the game. We made some substitutions there late and they made some shots and made it interesting at the very end.”
Olsen also said he was trying to keep guard Bryce Breedlove’s playing time to a minimum because of a groin injury.
“He obviously is a big part for us in finishing a game,” Olsen said. ” Credit to Farmington, they made a lot of shots from way out there.”
Guard Ty Olsen was also in double figures for Heritage with 19, including three 3-pointers. All of his points came in the first half.
Farmington hit 11 3-pointers for the game, including four in the fourth quarter. Skyler Montez and Jaylen Montez led the Cardinals with 17 points each. Danny Valenzuala added 11. Jaylen Montez hit four 3-points and Valenzuala hit three, all int he fourth quarter.
Farmington coach Beau Thompson said his team was better offensively than it had been in earlier games, but couldn’t keep up with Heritage. He wasn’t unhappy with the defense played by Xavier Staten on Stanley either.
“We opened things up a little for us offensively, but the problem when you shoot it a little faster, you give the other team the ball faster,” Thompson said. “They execute their offense really well. Stanley made some open shots, but he made some really tough shots, too. Staten is a very good defender, but he gives up some size to Stanley.
“Sometimes offense just trumps defense. That kid’s a college player.”
Girls - Farmington 57, Rogers Heritage 45
The Lady Cardinals (8-1) finally shook off the Lady War Eagles with a 9-0 fourth-quarter spurt to claim the non-conference win.
Heritage (4-5) had sliced a 16-point deficit to 38-31 less than a minute into the fourth quarter on Danielle Dickerson’s rebound bucket. But Farmington picked up the pace to pull away for the win.
Farmington coach Brad Johnson credited Heritage for its fight, but was also pleased with his team for making plays to thwart the Lady War Eagles.
“Down the stretch our kids made plays when they had to to keep the lead,” Johnson said. “I was really, really proud of our transition game. When the run happened we began to attack whether it was a make or a miss and got ourselves to the rim.
“They did a good job on some of our guards. Makenna Vanzant finished with 15. They did a great job on Madisyn Pense for a half. Chased her through everything. I thought in the second half, Madisyn made a good adjustment attacking the rim and flipped the game in her favor.”
Alexis Roach led three Farmington players in double figures with 17, while Vanzant added 15 and Pense chipped in 13. Brooke Menke led Heritage with 12, while Kayla Richardson added 11.
The Lady Cardinals combined three layups with three-of-four from the free throw line in the 9-0 spurt that put them in control 47-31 with about five minutes left.
Farmington closed the first quarter with a 12-0 run to grab a 19-7 lead started by five straight points from Roach and ended with three free throws byVanzant. The Lady Cardinals led by as many as 20 in the first half, but Heritage charged back in the second half behind the inside play of Menke, Richardson and Dickerson.
Heritage trailed 38-22, but Dickerson finished off the Lady War Eagles’ 9-0 run with three straight baskets inside by Dickerson to get within seven early in the fourth quarter.