Farwell teams gain finals

FARWELL - When it came to Farwell's boys semifinal match against Sundown on Friday in the Farwell Invitational, it was clear the bigger, stronger, more athletic team won out.

Junior Corey Stancell scored 22 points - all but two in the first half - and the host Steers coasted to a 54-45 victory over the Roughnecks. Farwell (5-2) faced Littlefield (5-5), a 61-52 winner on Friday over Portales, in Saturday night's title clash.

The girls final also matched the same teams after the Lady Blue (7-3) overwhelmed Texico 73-9 while Littlefield (4-6) survived a scare against Farwell Blue, outscoring the Lady Blue junior varsity 20-2 in the final stanza to register a 55-44 victory. Farwell and Littlefield each won their pools in the seven-team event.

Stancell's 3-pointer staked the Steers to an 11-0 lead after three minutes against the Roughnecks (3-4). Sundown made the game respectable by finishing on an 11-0 surge of its own over the final two minutes.

"We came out quick and made a lot of plays," Steers coach Shane Perkins said. "We had too many crazy fouls, and that killed the momentum of the game."

Senior Walker Williams added 11 points for Farwell, which limited the Roughnecks to just seven field goals over the first three frames.

Perkins said Sundown zeroed in more on Stancell in the second half.

"They made some adjustments," he said. "We finally got it where it needed to be and (others) were getting some easy shots."

Sophomore Jaryn Flores led the Roughnecks with 15 points, and senior Noah Peralez chipped in 11.

Perkins expected a tough test from Littlefield in the finals.

"They're good; we'll have to play four quarters," he said. "We're still looking for consistency.

"We're way lopsided with games versus practice so far. We're not where we need to be, but we're getting there."

In boys consolation semifinals on Friday, Silverton downed Texico 39-32 and Hale Center edged Muleshoe 42-39.

Silverton pulled away in the final quarter against Texico (4-3), expanding a two-point lead. The Wolverines, who faced Muleshoe in Saturday's seven-place game, were led by 13 points from junior Cade Figg and 12 from senior Jahvon Askew.

The Mules (3-4) led by two points at halftime, but were outscored 39-32 by Hale Center over the final two periods. Sophomore Lionel Martinez scored 14 points for the Owls (5-5), while junior Adam Alarcon had three 3-pointers and 11 tallies for Muleshoe.

Girls - Texico (2-6) hung around with the Lady Blue for a quarter, trailing 14-7, but the young Lady Wolverines managed only one more basket the rest of the way against Farwell's relentless defense.

First-year Lady Blue coach Josh Jourden, though, praised his overmatched opponent.

"They play hard and a lot of times they were in the right position," he said of the Lady Wolverines. "Eventually we kind of settled down and could see what they were doing to us. But I'm impressed with the job (Texico coach Jaylyn Cook) is doing, and how hard they played."

Sophomore Makaylee Baldwin scored 16 points, junior Landri Richey 14 and senior Jaelyn Smith 11 for Farwell.

In other tourney games Friday involving area girls teams:

Farwell 70, Hale Center 28 - Senior Charlie Trimble compiled 22 points and the Lady Blue put 10 players in the scoring column while also overwhelming the Lady Owls (11-3). Senior Makayla Espinosa led Hale Center with eight points.

Muleshoe 43, Texico 26 - The Lady Mules (8-7) rode 12 points from sophomore Megan Moran to the victory, while junior Cadence Smith scored eight points for Texico.