Farwell posts win over Vega

FARWELL - With a district championship out of reach, the Farwell boys basketball team turned its attention to tuning up for the postseason on Friday night.

Suffice it to say, it was a bit of an up-and-down performance against a young Vega squad.

Still, the Steers opened the game on a 13-0 run and ended it with a 34-4 blitz over the final 13 1/2 minutes to post a 69-29 victory over the Longhorns in the regular-season finale for both squads.

Farwell (24-3, 6-2 District 3-2A), coming off a five-point loss at Olton on Tuesday that gave the Mustangs the district title, is expecting to face either Ralls or Lockney in a bi-district contest on Friday at Littlefield.

"We (started well), and then I think we relaxed a little bit in the second quarter," Steers coach Shane Perkins said. "They're real young, but they've got some guys who can make shots."

Farwell went from zone defense to man-to-man in the second half. Vega (5-11, 2-6) pulled to 35-25 on a basket by freshman Jose Silerio with 5:28 left in the third period, but was outscored 34-4 the rest of the way and didn't make another field goal until the final five seconds of the game.

"It's hard sometimes when you drop your intensity," Perkins said. "(Vega) did a good job of finding gaps in our zone. At halftime, we just said, 'Let's go man-to-man.'

"Once we got everybody on the same page, they (Longhorns) were in trouble."

Vega, with five sophomores and three freshmen, righted the ship for a while after its early struggles, twice getting within six points in the second period.

"We're just so young," Longhorns coach Sonny Calhoun said. "We had a bad third quarter, but they're working hard and doing what we ask."

Junior Ryan Grawunder led the Longhorns with 11 points.

Meantime, 10 players scored for Farwell, led by senior Leefe Actkinson and junior Grayson Waldrop with 11 points apiece. In addition, four others finished with at least eight points.

Waldrop and senior Slade Perkins, son of the coach, each had three of the Steers' seven 3-point baskets.

"We knew we needed to play well to get some confidence going into the playoffs," said Actkinson, one of seven seniors on the roster. "The first half was a little slow, but we got it back together in the second half."

With an older team, Actkinson is confident the Steers can make some noise in the postseason.

"I think we have a route that we like," he said. "It'll be all about us getting ready and preparing."

On Tuesday, Olton used a 15-0, second-half surge to overhaul the Steers and clinch the district crown.

Farwell fell behind 6-0 before rallying to lead 33-23 late in the half. The Steers were still up 38-30 near the end of the third period before the Mustangs went on their run.

Farwell closed to 51-50 late, but Olton converted four free throws in the closing seconds to wrap it up.

Junior Chris Urbina scored 17 points and senior Israel Santillan added 15 for Olton. Actkinson led the Steers with 17 points, while junior Leo Nunez had 10.

In other boys action on Friday:

Olton 68, Bovina 39 - At Bovina, the host Mustangs trailed just 29-20 at halftime before the district champs pulled away over the final two stanzas, extending their winning streak to 18 games.

Seniors Jack Allcorn and Israel Santillan tallied 12 and 11 points, respectively, to pace a balanced attack for Olton (23-1, 8-0). No scoring leaders were available for Bovina (8-7, 3-5), which will face either New Deal or Floydada in a bi-district round contest on Thursday at Littlefield.