The tournament’s first buzzer-beater has decided Game 3. Farmington’s Logan Morse hit a layup as time expired, lifting the Farmers to a 49-47 victory over the Illini West Chargers. This tight contest featured eight lead changes, six tie scores, and each team had an identical 25 rebounds. Illini West’s Bradyn Robertson tied the game with 14 seconds to play. Farmington (9-2) called timeout and drew up a play that eventually ended in Logan Morse’s hands.
The only lopsided stat in this game were bench points, which Farmington won 16 to 5. Illini West led for 15:05 in this contest, including a 17-16 lead at halftime. Both teams had a more productive scoring second half in what was a very fun game to watch.
Farmington was led by a pair of double-digit scorers in Riley Embry (11) and Keauntrey Barnes (10). Barnes had a game-high seven rebounds, which was all the more impressive since he came off the bench. Ethan Evans and Corbin Rutledge each added eight points. Evans’s five steals led both teams.
The Chargers’ leading scorer was Max Richardson with a game-high 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Nolan Deitrich contributed 13 points and five rebounds. Nick Manzo dropped nine points as well as five rebounds.
Farmington advances to the quarterfinals to meet the winner of Rockridge/Brown County. That quarterfinal contest will be tomorrow in Game 14 at 6:30pm. The Illini West Chargers take a tough-luck loss and find themselves in the consolation bracket. They will meet the loser of that Rockridge/Brown County game. Illini West’s game will be Game 10, tomorrow morning at 10:30am.
Box Score
Farmington Info
Illini West Info
Chris Derry
December 27, 2021
