Strong start lifts Knights in season opener

By MATT KING
Daily Journal Sports Writer

FARMINGTON — The Farmington boys basketball team was clearly prepared to begin its season on Tuesday night, as evidenced by a flying start that left visiting Rockwood Summit with an insurmountable deficit.

The Knights opened the contest with a 14-0 scoring run, and created 10 first-quarter turnovers with swarming defense for a 56-48 triumph in round-robin action at the Farmington Invitational.

Lance Miller connected on four three-pointers while totaling a team-high 20 points with six rebounds, and fellow senior Taylor Denman tallied 16 points with five steals for Farmington (1-0).

Both players scored layups off midcourt steals as the hosts needed just 1:41 to build a double-digit cushion that would not be challenged. Farmington led 18-4 through one quarter before settling into a more deliberate pace.

Miller opened the second quarter with a triple from the left wing, and Jared Clippard added a putback that produced a 27-14 halftime margin despite several trips to the charity stripe for the Falcons.

Derek Franklin converted a transition rebound into a three-point play early in the third quarter, and Bryan Krause restored the largest difference of the night at 44-24 with four straight free throws following a technical foul.

Summit (0-2) established a strong post presence down the stretch with 6-10 senior Will Clark, who threw down a pair of dunks while compiling 22 points and 13 rebounds overall.

Blake Beineke added 10 points for the Falcons, who pulled within 53-44 on a driving baseline layup from Kevin Dwyer with 1:01 remaining.

Farmington will continue pool play against Construction Careers Charter on Friday night. The championship final is set for 7 p.m. on Saturday.

Summit   4  10  15  19 - 48

Farmington  18   9  19  10 - 56

SCORING:

Summit - Clark 22, Weber 10, Hicks 6, Dwyer 5, Flesner 2, Woodard 2. 3-point FG - Weber.

Farmington - Miller 20, Denman 16, Krause 6, Franklin 5, Clippard 2, Detring 2, Thompson 2, Schnurbusch 2, Baker 1. 3-point FG - Miller 4, Denman.