Cooper Knowles’s 29 points, nine rebounds, and five blocks led West Hancock’s Titans to a narrow victory over the Farmers of Farmington by a score of 43-39. In a game that was closer than most in the crowd expected for an opener for the tournament’s top seed, West Hancock held off a charging, hungry Farmington team that was eager to play spoiler. The Titans’s largest lead was 12 points early in the second half, but Farmington went on a nine-point run in the 3rd quarter, winning the third frame 19-14 and pulling within 3 points going into the 4th and final quarter. Poor shooting was the story in this game, as the teams combined to shoot just 29-for-87 (33%).
As mentioned, West Hancock (7-3) was led in scoring, rebounds, and blocks by Cooper Knowles, however he was matched for the team-high in rebounds with Hunter Froman’s nine boards. Froman was also the only other player in double digit scoring, finishing with 10 points. Braden Hurt led the Titans with five assists. West Hancock shot just 3-for-20 from behind the 3-point arc, however, and will look to improve on their shooting discipline for their second round matchup on Monday.
Farmington (1-7) tried to shock the gym on Saturday morning and nearly succeeded. They forced West Hancock into 13 turnovers, swiped nine steals, played stifling defense, and caused this webmaster to look through the tournament records late in the game for the last time a #1 seed lost in the opening round. (I could not find any reference of this occurring since the tournament started seeding the top teams in the event). Boston Smith led the team with 16 points, highlighted by 4-for-5 from 3-pointers. Smith and Kaydon Bollinger each tied with a team-high seven rebounds and Landon Crawford’s two assists led a Farmers team who only finished with six total.
West Hancock, sporting a few extra gray hairs, will meet Mercer County in Game 13 (Monday, 4:00pm). Farmington falls to the consolation bracket, where they will meet a tough Liberty team in Game 9 (Monday, 9:00am).
Box Score
West Hancock Info
Farmington Info
Chris Derry
December 27, 2025