FULL REPORT: CUBS SPOIL FLYERS’ HOPES OF A REGION 5B WIN
REGION 5B BOYS BASKETBALL
Cubs spoil Flyers’ bid for revenge
The Freeman Public boys wanted payback against Alcester-Hudson for a 2-point loss during the regular season. Instead, they were dealt an excruciating defeat
JEREMY WALTNER – PUBLISHER
A fast start propelled the Freeman High School boys to an 11-point lead in the second quarter, but poor shooting and turnovers in the second half thwarted any hopes of a revenge victory over an Alcester-Hudson team that had won 41-39 during the regular season, and the Flyers saw their season come to an end in the play-in game of the Region 5B Tournament Monday night, Feb. 28 in Alcester.
The Flyers led the Cubs 13-5 after the first quarter and 23-14 at the half but were outscored 22-9 in the third and fourth periods in what ended up being a 36-32 loss.
Freeman was 2-for-20 from three-point range (the two makes came from Bradey Kaufman and Ethan Balvin in the first 3 minutes of the game), shot 2-for-8 from the free-throw line and committed 13 turnovers — eight of them in the second half.
Alcester-Hudson took a 4-17 record into Tuesday night’s game against Region 5B top-seed Freeman Academy/Marion (18-2).
Freeman Public finished its 2021-22 campaign 1-20.
“The season didn’t go like everybody was hoping, but you get up and move forward and hope there’s a life lesson to take from this,” said Lance Friesen, who just concluded his first year as head coach for the boys basketball program at Freeman Public after coming off successful high school programs at Corsica, Freeman Academy and Parker. “And you thank the seniors (Bradey Kaufman, Jacob Swensen and Justin Wollman); I know three, four coaches in four years isn’t easy, but they all stepped up and gave far more than our record shows, and I’m really appreciative of their commitment.”
Friesen is also optimistic about what the future might bring.
Ethan Balvin, who led Freeman to its only win of the season over Menno with a 22-point exhibition, is a junior; Blake Rumelhart (a team-high 12 points against Alcester-Hudson) and Evan Scharberg (starting point guard against the Cubs) are just sophomores; and Luke Peters and Tate Sorensen, who as eighth-graders saw critical varsity time off the bench, are still coming into their own.
And this year’s roster also included junior Jayden Jacobsen, sophomores Joey Baer and Rocky Ammann, and freshmen Talen Pitchford and Sawyer Wipf.
“The future is bright and we can’t forget that,” Friesen said. “Flyer basketball is heading in the right direction.”
The Cubs game
For Freeman, part of the reason Monday night’s loss to Alcester-Hudson felt like such a punch to the gut is because there was a feeling of optimism going into the game. Friesen said he felt like his players were ready for the Cubs and excited about the prospect of taking the court with crosstown counterpart Freeman Academy/Marion the following night.
And the Flyers had lost to Alcester-Hudson by just a single bucket during the regular season — on a field goal in the closing seconds — in a game in which they were without starting forward Blake Rumelhart, who returned to the lineup later in the season.
So there was reason for optimism as things looked and felt good for Freeman early on in Monday’s game, even though the Cubs were playing on their home court and had strong backing of an energetic and loud crowd.
Kaufman connected on a three-pointer from the corner to give his team a quick 3-0 lead — he scored seven of Freeman’s first eight points — and a Balvin three-pointer made it 11-5 midway through the first quarter.
Meanwhile, on the defensive side of the ball, the Flyers imposed an effective full-court press that caused the Cubs some fits and did a nice job controlling the boards to keep the momentum on their side. Freeman had 17 rebounds — seven of them offensive — six steals and three blocked shots in the first half alone.
Freeman’s lead grew to 13-5 by the end of the first quarter on a field goal inside from senior Jacob Swensen, and with 1:34 left in the first half the Flyers opened up a 23-12 lead on the third field goal of the quarter from Sorensen coming off the bench.
It was 23-14 at the break.
But things went south in the second half for the Flyers in large part because they couldn’t connect from the field. The Cubs did come out with more intensity on defense, but Freeman got good looks that simply didn’t fall.
The Flyers scored just two points in the third quarter and nine points in the entire second half thanks to an 0-for-9 showing from long range and 4-for-15 shooting from inside the three-point line.
Freeman’s lead was down to 25-20 with just over 2 minutes to play in the third quarter and then, after a Flyers turnover, Alcester-Hudson made it a 25-22 game, and then 25-23 on one of two free throws — the score at the end of the third quarter.
“I actually think we were fatigued,” Friesen said of his team’s anemic offense in that third quarter. “We played super hard in the first half and I think we may have worn ourselves out.”
But the Flyers got a spark to start the final frame when a field goal and free throw by Rumelhart gave Freeman a bit of breathing room at 28-23. But the Cubs responded with a three-pointer that made it 28-26, and then Alcester-Hudson freshman guard Ethan Bovill connected on yet another triple for his eighth point of the game that gave the Cubs their first lead at 29-28 with 4:47 to play.
Rumelhart responded and gave the Flyers a bit of life with back-to-back field goals that put him in double figures — the second coming in transition after he stole the ball — and Freeman jumped back on top 32-29.
But Alcester-Hudson answered with yet another three-pointer, this time from Evan Brown, another freshman guard, to tie the game at 32, and then took a 34-32 lead on a fast break after yet another Flyers turnover.
While the Cubs had a 35-32 lead with less than a minute to play, Freeman had multiple chances to tie or at least cut into the lead, but turnovers and missed shots made the difference down the stretch, and a single Alcester-Hudson free throw brought the game to its final score of 36-32.
“We just didn’t take care of the ball very well, and we just couldn’t score,” said Friesen, who correctly notes that the Flyers’ inability to put the ball in the hole prevented them from setting up their press, “and we had some success with that earlier in the game.”
Friesen said it was a tough locker room after the game but he praised his players for their hard work, not only against Alcester-Hudson, but all season long. And he hopes those coming back use the loss to the Cubs as motivation.
“We’ve got a nice core returning,” said the coach, “and getting better starts with weights, shooting, forms and reps. And we need to play in the summer.”
As for Friesen, he said he is focusing on getting better himself, learning from his own mistakes of the season and building chemistry with his players.
“I just want to keep meeting these guys where they are and building personal relationships,” he said. “I want to be able to motivate them as both basketball players and individuals.”
Blake Rumelhart – 12 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals, 3 blocks; Brady Kaufman – 7 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals; Tate Sorensen – 6 points, 2 rebounds, 1 block; Ethan Balvin – 5 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 3 steals; Jacob Swensen – 2 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist; Justin Wollman – 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block; Luke Peters – 2 rebounds
