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Mar. 18—FREEMAN, S.D. — Following the SoDak 16 round, Freeman boys basketball coach Lance Friesen and player Sawyer Wipf remembered winning only once in the Wipf's freshman year.
It makes the following trip north to Aberdeen even more impressive.
In only four years, the Flyers went from finishing 1-20 in the 2021-22 season to now being one of the final eight teams vying for this year's Class B state championship. It's Freeman's first state tournament appearance since 1999 and the eighth tournament appearance in program history.
Narrowly missing a chance to advance to the SoDak 16 last season, the returning players had a sense this season was going to turn out differently following an opening-night victory over fellow state title contender Viborg-Hurley on Dec. 12.
"Ever since we beat Viborg-Hurley in the first game, we knew right away we had something special," junior Tate Sorensen said. "If we executed the way we could, anything was possible and here we are."
Freeman enters as the No. 6-seed in the tournament with a 19-4 record, advancing out of the Region 4B tournament with victories over Gayville-Volin and Parkston before taking down the defending Class B champions in Howard in the SoDak 16 on March 11 at the Corn Palace to clinch a spot at state.
Most of the season has been relied on the offense, ranked fourth in the class in scoring at 65.9 points per game, but it was during the week of practice between the final regular-season game and the start of the playoffs where everything the team was doing on the floor was becoming in sync in the eyes of the coaches.
"We were starting to figure out how to just play and not think so much," Friesen said. "It took a few tough practices, but I said to the coaches that I thought we figured it out because we were just as good against zone and we were against man defense."
Freshman David Walter is the Flyers' leading scorer at 19 points per game, also leading the team in rebounding (7.3). Sorensen's second at 14 points per game and 6.5 rebounds per game, while junior Luke Peters is second averaging two assists per game. Tayden Kerrigan leads Freeman in assists (2.1) and steals (1.7) in his freshman season.
The Flyers draw No. 3 Viborg-Hurley for the first round of the state tournament in a rematch of opening night, a 57-53 victory for Freeman. Senior standout Nick Hanson leads the Cougars in scoring at 19.5 points per game and has shot 67.7% from the field this season, while the team also uses a deep rotation of eight players to provide key minutes in the game.
Heading into the tournament, the goal is to be able to put a string of consecutive strong practices together, while continuing to shift away from pressing as much as possible at the beginning of the year in favor of displaying a stronger half-court defense.
"We're going to scout our opponent, practice hard and make sure we know what we're up against," Walter said. "It boosted our confidence when we beat Viborg-Hurley, but now we fought back throughout the year."
"We've been talking about stacking days," Friesen added. "Getting better every day, and we'll see if that gets us to where we want to be at the state tournament. I know we'll have a big challenge out of the gate, but I think it'll be a lot of fun to go play there."
Freeman and Viborg-Hurley are scheduled to tip off at 7:45 p.m. on Thursday, March 20, at the Barnett Center in Aberdeen.
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It makes the following trip north to Aberdeen even more impressive.
In only four years, the Flyers went from finishing 1-20 in the 2021-22 season to now being one of the final eight teams vying for this year's Class B state championship. It's Freeman's first state tournament appearance since 1999 and the eighth tournament appearance in program history.
Narrowly missing a chance to advance to the SoDak 16 last season, the returning players had a sense this season was going to turn out differently following an opening-night victory over fellow state title contender Viborg-Hurley on Dec. 12.
"Ever since we beat Viborg-Hurley in the first game, we knew right away we had something special," junior Tate Sorensen said. "If we executed the way we could, anything was possible and here we are."
Freeman enters as the No. 6-seed in the tournament with a 19-4 record, advancing out of the Region 4B tournament with victories over Gayville-Volin and Parkston before taking down the defending Class B champions in Howard in the SoDak 16 on March 11 at the Corn Palace to clinch a spot at state.
Most of the season has been relied on the offense, ranked fourth in the class in scoring at 65.9 points per game, but it was during the week of practice between the final regular-season game and the start of the playoffs where everything the team was doing on the floor was becoming in sync in the eyes of the coaches.
"We were starting to figure out how to just play and not think so much," Friesen said. "It took a few tough practices, but I said to the coaches that I thought we figured it out because we were just as good against zone and we were against man defense."
Freshman David Walter is the Flyers' leading scorer at 19 points per game, also leading the team in rebounding (7.3). Sorensen's second at 14 points per game and 6.5 rebounds per game, while junior Luke Peters is second averaging two assists per game. Tayden Kerrigan leads Freeman in assists (2.1) and steals (1.7) in his freshman season.
The Flyers draw No. 3 Viborg-Hurley for the first round of the state tournament in a rematch of opening night, a 57-53 victory for Freeman. Senior standout Nick Hanson leads the Cougars in scoring at 19.5 points per game and has shot 67.7% from the field this season, while the team also uses a deep rotation of eight players to provide key minutes in the game.
Heading into the tournament, the goal is to be able to put a string of consecutive strong practices together, while continuing to shift away from pressing as much as possible at the beginning of the year in favor of displaying a stronger half-court defense.
"We're going to scout our opponent, practice hard and make sure we know what we're up against," Walter said. "It boosted our confidence when we beat Viborg-Hurley, but now we fought back throughout the year."
"We've been talking about stacking days," Friesen added. "Getting better every day, and we'll see if that gets us to where we want to be at the state tournament. I know we'll have a big challenge out of the gate, but I think it'll be a lot of fun to go play there."
Freeman and Viborg-Hurley are scheduled to tip off at 7:45 p.m. on Thursday, March 20, at the Barnett Center in Aberdeen.
Continue reading...
