Farmersville junior Koby Chavez (1) drives past a Leonard defender to score two of his 33 points on Nov. 25. Photo by Tina Lopez / C&S Media
By David Wolman
Unrelenting defense is the best way to describe the Farmersville boys basketball team. Through the first three games of the season, they have used this style to overwhelm opponents, winning by at least 20 points, including a 92-25 victory over Bonham in the season opener.
However, an inauspicious start in their Nov. 25 home game against Leonard saw the Farmers trail 16-0 just four minutes in.
First-year head coach Kingsley Akinwole attributed the struggles to Farmersville experimenting with a defensive scheme it had not used in a game. More so, he said, the Farmers were simply out of their element.
Following two quick timeouts, Farmersville switched back to the defensive setups that had worked so well to start the season, and that was all the Farmers needed to erase the early 16-point deficit and overwhelm Leonard in an 89-45 blowout win.
“We went back to playing our style of basketball,” Akinwole said. “We tried to make sure that we dictate the speed and be really aggressive on defense.”
The Farmers (4-0) trailed on the scoreboard even before the game clock started.
Junior Devin Swain Jr. was called for a technical foul in pregame warmups for dunking with a referee present. The Tigers made two free throws and turned that into a five-point possession after a made 3-pointer. That advantage grew to 16-0 following Leonard’s second 3-pointer of the opening quarter.
With Farmersville struggling on both ends of the court, the team was in desperate need of a spark. Koby Chavez provided that spark. He scored Farmersville’s first points with a spinning jump shot just over a minute later. It was the start of a huge performance for Chavez, who led all scorers with 33 points, including eight 3-pointers.
Farmersville finished the game with 15 made 3-pointers.
“He’s one of our pure shooters,” Akinwole said of Chavez. “We give him the green light. Every time we get past half court, I want him to let the ball fly. He’s got some deep range.”
The Farmers trimmed the deficit to 18-11 by the end of the first quarter, and they were only getting started.
The hot shooting of Chavez, Swain Jr. and Christian Smith got Farmersville rolling offensively. They combined for 26 of the 31 second-quarter points, including 11 from Chavez and eight each from Smith and Swain Jr. The Farmers opened the frame on a 26-0 run, with a Swain Jr. 3-pointer giving Farmersville a 37-18 lead.
Leonard ended an eight-minute scoring drought on a 3-pointer by Logan Sudderth with 1:10 left in the half, but that only cut the deficit to 16 points, and the Tigers never threatened again.
Meanwhile, Farmersville’s athleticism was creating havoc on defense. The Farmers suffocated Leonard with pressure and used quick hands to force 29 turnovers, leading to several transition scoring chances. Swain Jr. finished off one of those steals with a dunk to make it 55-26 with 4:55 left in the third quarter.
“You have to be extremely athletic to play in this style of system,” Akinwole said. “We contest every shot, and hopefully our shots are dropping.”
Swain Jr. finished with 16 points and Smith added 19 in the victory. Colt Guinn had a strong second half, scoring 11 points over the final two quarters with three 3-pointers.
It was the second win in as many days for the Farmers, who cruised to an 86-51 road win over Greenville on Nov. 24.
Smith scored 21 points in that contest, followed by 16 from Swain Jr., 11 from Chavez and 10 from Ethan Stone.
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