That’s Mr. Freeze To Defenders
FARMINGTON – In mid-November, winter temperatures cooled in northwestern Arkansas. Farmington junior guard Layne Taylor froze a Providence Academy defenseman on Thursday, November 17 with the Cardinals winning 79-44.
“Holy snowshoes, Batman, it’s hard guarding the basket when your feet are tripping on top of each other on the hardwood.”
Rotating players, sometimes five at a time, kept Farmington’s boys basketball team fresh, and the Cardinals ripped down 19 offensive rebounds while hitting Providence Academy.
After Maddox Mahan hit a Trey from left wing, Layne Taylor saved the ball for Jaxon Berry to layup, then used a stuttering dribble and paused to make the Patriots think he was changing tack, causing a Providence defender Academy temporarily frozen left in place. That hesitation ensured the split second it took Layne Taylor to end driving for a left-hander and a 55-24 Cardinal lead at the 5:03 mark of the third quarter at the Cardinal Arena.
This is Mr. Freeze for defenders who don’t keep their feet moving and those used to supervillain dialogue in Batman movies.
Layne Taylor made it look easy. He shoved the ball to the floor after a steal and then hit Caleb Blakely for a layup in the early stages of a Cardinal 22-12 blitz in the third quarter that effectively sealed the result.
A dozen Farmington players netted, led by starting wardens Layne Taylor and Mahan on 15 each. The pair, who combined for eight of the 14 Cardinals, made 3-point shots. Berry, a junior 6-foot-4 forward, also hit double digits with 10 points.
“Obviously we are still in the works. We’re not where we want to be yet. The effort was great, but the execution will be much better. We have a lot of kids new to our program and we’re very athletic,” said Farmington coach Johnny Taylor. “Josh Blakely, Caleb Blakely, Kaden Hughes and Jaxon Berry changed the dynamic of our team because of their athletic ability. Maddox Mahan’s ability and Sam Kirkman (3 three-pointers, 9 points), getting corners is the biggest thing, we’ll go for it.”
Farmington took a 30-13 lead after a quarter and extended it to 48-20 at half-time.
Carter Keen scored 24 points for Providence Academy while Cogler added Laney 11 in 6-on-7 free throw shooting.
Farmington 79, Providence Academy 44
Academy of Providence^13^7^12^12^–^44
Farmington^30^18^22^9^–^79
Farmington (2-0): Layne Taylor 6 0-0 15, Maddox Mahan 5 0-0 15, Jaxon Berry 5 0-0 10, Sam Kirkman 3 0-0 9, Caleb Blakely 4 0-0 8, Maddox Teeter 2 0-0 6, Josh Blakely 1 3-5 5, Cameron Crisman 1 0-0 3, Jaeden Newsome 1 0-0 2, Hunter Reaves 1 0-0 2, Jayden Brewer 1 0-0 2, Zac Miller 0 2- 2 2. Totals 30 5-7 79.
Providence Academy (0-1): Carter Keen 9 1-2 24, Cogler Laney 2 6-7 11, Toby Butler 2 0-0 4, Steven Hunter 1 0-0 3, Ben Haylen 0 2-2 2. 14 overall 9-11 44.
3-Point Goals – Farmington 14 (Mahan 5, Taylor 3, Kirkman 3, Teeter 2, Chrisman). Providence Academy 7 (Keen 5, Hunter, Laney).
Rebounds – Farmington 41 (C Blakely 8, Taylor 8). Templates – Farmington 20 (Taylor 14).
