Ali Farokhmanesh and Zach McCabe needed only one half to secure a victory for their team during their Prime Time League game Tuesday night in North Liberty.
The duo led the way during a 27-3 run over the final 6:02 of the first half en route to a 120-96 win.
“We really just started shooting the ball well,” Farokhmanesh said. “We have a lot of great shooters on our team. Once the shots started going in, once one guy made a shot, another guy made a shot.
“It’s really kind of contagious, and as soon as that happened, I think three or four guys caught fire.”
After McCabe dunked to put his Armstrong squad (2-2) up by 8, Farokhmanesh scored 8-straight points and added a pair of assists to highlight what turned out to be the game-ending run.
“We all played together really well,” McCabe said. “We were all hitting shots, and we played really good defense also, so it just all worked out for us.”
Iowa guard Roy Devyn Marble led his Monica’s/Pelling team (1-3) early in the game with 13 first-half points as he drove to the basket at will.
That dominance didn’t last long, though — he was forced out of the game at the 6:20 mark because of a cut on his right arm. Although he only missed about a minute of action, his departure marked a major turning point in the contest, and his team only converted one field goal and a free throw in the remainder of the half.
“They were offensive rebounding, and we didn’t rebound,” Marble said. “I was trying to get my guys to come up and press like I was, to play them full-court, but — I don’t know. We just had a lack of communication.”
Marble led all scorers with 28 points on 10-of-23 shooting. He also pulled down 8 rebounds and dish out 7 assists.
Only two of Marble’s teammates scored in double figures; five of his opponents did.
In fact, only one Armstrong player failed to score.
McCabe started the game with a hot hand, scoring 8 early points, including the first bucket of the game when he collected a pass from Farokhmanesh and drained a 3-pointer from the right wing.
“Zach has really got his confidence back and is shooting well,” Armstrong head coach Dan Ahrens said. “He’s just slowly getting it back where he is getting his confidence back and growing every game.”
The Iowa forward finished with 23 points, including three 3-point baskets.
“I was feeling it during warm-ups a little bit, and I thought I’d play my game and get comfortable at the beginning of the game,” the Hawkeye sophomore said.
Farokhmanesh, a former West High and Northern Iowa standout, led Armstrong in scoring with 26 points. He was joined on the offensive end by current Northern Iowa player Matt Morrison, who scored 18 points. Together, the Panther duo combined for 9-of-14 shooting from behind the 3-point line.
The Prime Time will skip its normal Sunday slate of action this coming weekend in observance of Independence Day. The next scheduled games are set for July 5.