FARMINGTON -- The added pressure of postseason play hasn't slowed Layne Taylor, Farmington's standout freshman guard.
Taylor scored 29 points and Farmington claimed the 4A-1 Conference Tournament championship with a 62-47 victory over Berryville Thursday at Cardinal Arena. Taylor made five 3-pointers and he was particularly hot from outside in the first and third quarters for Farmington, which earned the home game Thursday after beating Berryville during the regular season.
Carson Simmons added 11 points for Farmington while Landon Chester scored 19 and JD Smith 16 for Berryville.
"I was proud of Carson Simmons," Farmington coach Johnny Taylor said. "He did not shoot it well in the first half and he played great in the second half. I'm always proud of Layne because he plays hard and he has a good attitude."
Farmington (19-4) and Berryville (20-4) will each advance to the regional tournament next week at Ozark. Farmington will play on Wednesday and Berryville on Thursday.
"I think we've definitely hit our peak and guys have settled in to define roles," Johnny Taylor said. "We tell them all the time 'you've got to believe in your role, stay in your role, and, eventually, star in your role.'"
Layne Taylor began to star in his role as a shooter with 15 first-half points after opening the game with three consecutive 3-pointers. He cooled off from the outside in the second quarter and Berryville closed to within 27-25 at halftime behind the play of Chester and Smith, who combined for 20 points.
Taylor then regained his stroke in the second half, beginning with two 3-pointers that keyed a 7-0 run and prompted a Berryville timeout with the Bobcats trailing 35-25. The Cardinals continued to pull away and led 48-33 after a short jumper from Taylor with under six minutes left to play.
While Taylor did the bulk of the scoring, he received plenty of help on the defensive end against a Berryville team with an imposing frontcourt anchored by 6-foot-8 center Weston Teague. Mateo Carbonel was a strong rebounder and he contributed a 3-pointer in the first half when the game was close.
"I thought (Carbonel) played great," Taylor said. "Everybody loves Mateo because of how hard he plays. The offensive rebounds and that type of stuff was just off the charts."
HUNTSVILLE 61,
SHILOH CHRISTIAN 42
Huntsville received balanced scoring and defeated Shiloh Christian for third place in the conference tournament. Both teams will advance to the regional tournament next week.
Matthew Sisk scored 16 points for Huntsville while Hayden Dotson followed with 15 and Mason Davidson 12. Eli Wisdom scored 13 points to lead Shiloh Christian.