Farwell grinds out tough 44-34 win over Highland Park
Farwell boys basketball head coach Shane Perkins was blunt when asked about the Steers' style of play.
"Basketball is a beautiful game," he said. "We can ugly it up better than anybody."
The Friday night contest between the Steers and the Highland Park definitely qualified as ugly. It was low scoring and high on turnovers with Farwell having to play from behind the entire first half. In the end, the Steers found a way to grind it out, just as they've done so often this year.
Farwell managed to connect on a few baskets in the final quarter of play to build up enough distance on the way to a 44-34 victory over Highland Park in District 3-2A play.
It was a surprising start to the game as Highland Park jumped out to a 10-3 lead. Adrian Nunes hit a three to make it 10-6 before the end of the opening quarter, the Hornets built the lead up to 17-9 from there. Farwell closed the first half on a 6-0 run to get within two (19-17) at the midway point.
The second half remained a slugfest, but Alec Actkinson tied the game up at 21-21 with 5:23 left in the third before Corey Stancell put the Steers in front with a layup of his own. Zack McClurg knocked down a turnaround jumper to briefly tie it up again, but Walker Williams hit a layup with four minutes left in the period to put Farwell up for good.
The Steers built the lead up to 35-25 before the Hornets got back within 35-30. Farwell managed to close it out for the 10-point win in the end.
"When you get on the road in district you just want to get out with a win," said Perkins, whose squad improved to 16-4 overall and 1-0 in district. "(Highland Park) is a much-improved team from what they've been in the past. ... Everybody is 0-0 the first week of district and they had a lot of confidence which showed in the first half. We were finally able to make some shots in the second half and were able to stretch it out a little bit."
Actkinson led the way with 14 points while Nunez had 12.
As for Highland Park (11-10, 0-1), it was a frustrating final result given how the Hornets started.
For a team that won just four games last year and competing as well as it did against the 11th ranked team in Class 2A, is a sliver of a small victory to take away.
"We're not there yet," Highland Park coach Matt Donaghy said. "We're really young and we just couldn't finish the game. Sometimes it goes like that and the guys have never been there before. We've never competed against a top-10 caliber team. We were able to hang in and I told the guys, 'Don't be surprised that you're here.' We haven't gotten over that hump yet due to inexperience, but I'm really proud of the guys. ... We fell short against a really good team."
Highland Park was led by Elyes Torres' 13 points while McClurg added 10. Izaviaha Campolla contributed five blocks.
Highland Park will look to bounce back at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Panhandle, while Farwell will visit Boys Ranch on the same night and time.
HIGHLAND PARK (11-10, 0-1)
Zack McClurg 4-8, 0-0, 10; Elyes Torres 4-12, 5-6, 13; Izaviaha Campolla 1-5, 0-0, 2; Brady Thompson 1-1, 0-0, 3; Alex Conway 1-4, 0-0 2; Cutter Kennedy 2-9, 0-0, 4. Totals 13-39, 5-6, 34.
FARWELL (16-4, 1-0)
Walker Williams 3-7, 0-1, 6; Adrian Nunez 3-10, 5-6, 12; Braddock Foster 0-1, 0-0, 0; Ryder McElroy 0-5, 0-0, 0; Corey Stancell 2-12, 1-2, 5; Alejandro Carrillo 0-1, 0-0, 0; Alec Actkinson 5-14, 5-7, 14; Jorge Vazquez 3-7, 0-2, 6. Totals 16-57, 11-18 44.
Halftime — Farwell 19, HP 17.
3-Point Goals — Farwell 1 (Adrian Nunez), HP 2 (Brady Thompson, Zach McClurg)
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Farwell grinds out tough 44-34 win over Highland Park
