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A ramped-up defensive effort after halftime turned a 10-point deficit into an eight-point victory for Freeman.
The No. 2 Flyers trailed 30-20 at the break, but outscored No. 5 Castlewood 41-23 in the second half and captured the Class B Boys State Basketball Tournament championship 61-53 Saturday, March 21 at the Barnett Center.
It’s Freeman’s first state title in boys basketball since 1975. The Flyers won the Class 9AA football championship in November.
Castlewood’s Kamden Keszler drives to the rim between Freeman’s Tate Sorenson (42) and Tayde Kerrigan during the Class B championship game Saturday, March 21 at Wachs Arena. Keszler scored a game-high 24 points in a 61-53 loss. Aberdeen Insider photo by Robb Garofalo.
“It’s been a long time and, yeah, it makes it a little sweeter,” said Freeman head coach Lance Friesen. “I grew up in Freeman, and I knew how long it had been… We weren’t very good when I got here five years ago and had to build some things in the program. It’s been an amazing effort by a lot of people, and the kids got rewarded for their belief.”
The first half belonged to the defending State B champion Warriors — Kamden Keszler in particular.
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He knocked down two three-pointers in the first quarter, then scored and drew a foul on a drive to the rim. He had nine points as Castlewood had a 19-11 lead after the first eight minutes.
“Kam showed the type of player he is, and you saw him play really well for us,” said Castlewood head coach Paul Raasch. “He hit those early threes and got us going, but those shots we hit in the first half didn’t fall enough in the second.”
Keszler hit four three-pointers in the first half and five on the night to finish with a game-high 24 points. The Warriors led by 10 at intermission and went up 33-20 when Keszler hit from long range early in the third quarter.
Freeman’s David Walter blocks the shot of Castlewood’s Will Aderhold during the Class B state championship game Saturday, March 21 inside the Barnett Center. Photo by Kevin Foss for the Aberdeen Insider.
“We had the momentum in the first half because we were hitting our shots, and my shot felt pretty good early,” Keszler said. “You’re hyped before the game, but it’s a very tiring, physical tournament. I mean, we took two ice baths every night, and in the second half, I was pushing some of my shots and maybe got a little worn down.”
Part of that was the result of a switch Freeman made on offense.
Rather than working the ball around the perimeter, the Flyers attacked the lane, which led to finishes at the rim and kick-outs for open threes.
Castlewood’s Leonard Wernke throws down a two-hand slam against Freeman during the Class B state championship game. Freeman won the title 61-53. Photo by Kevin Foss for the Aberdeen Insider.
“Castlewood is an intimidating team, and a lot of teams don’t go at them, especially when they’re in that zone, because it can be hard to be aggressive, and I told our kids that has to be the key,” Friesen said.
MORE: State B: Shots don’t fall in Aberdeen Christian’s loss to De Smet in consolation championship game
The Flyers started making shots and outscored Castlewood 18-11 in the third quarter to cut the deficit to 41-38 heading into the final eight minutes.
Luke Peters, who scored 14 points for Freeman, hit a three-pointer to give his team a 46-44 lead with 5:29 left in the fourth. Ten of his points came in the second half.
“It’s a relief to get it down, and it’s funny because it’s kind of been a common theme for me to miss my first two, then hit my third, which I don’t know why that is, but hitting the first just puts me in a spot where I know I can hit another. The second half tonight was more of just pushing the fear aside and going and playing our game and just let it fly,” Peters said.
Defensively, Freeman limited the Warriors to eight of 30 shooting in the second half — 26.7%.
“I think we executed better on the defensive side in the second half,” Friesen said. “They missed some shots, too, and we rebounded really well and didn’t give them much off the glass which, was a key to winning this game.”
Raasch agreed rebounding was a big factor.
The Warriors had a clear height advantage, but Freeman won the rebounding battle 36-31. The Flyers had nine offensive boards.
Freeman’s David Walter scored a team-high 22 points and hauled down 12 boards for a double-double. He added four assists.
“Rebounding and defense. Those were the differences tonight,” Walter said. “We just trusted each other to make shots. We knew Castlewood was gonna get hot right away, I mean Kam Keszler put on a heck of a show in the first half, but we knew we were capable of making shots, which we did.”
Members of the Freeman Flyers tap the State B bracket after placing their team sticker on the championship line celebrating their 61-53 state title win over Castlewood Saturday, March 21 inside the Barnett Center. It’s Freeman’s first title in basketball since 1975. Aberdeen Insider photo by Robb Garofalo.
The Flyers continued to pressure the Warriors in the fourth quarter, outscoring them 23-12, shooting 50% from the field and allowing only two Castlewood field goals in the first 7:10 of the final period.
Freeman also converted in crunch time. Castlewood took a 48-46 lead when Will Aderhold sank a three-pointer with 3:16 to play, but was outscored 15-5 the rest of the way.
Peters and Tayden Kerrigan made shots to give the Flyers a 50-48 advantage with 2:40 to play. Those buckets sparked a 12-2 run that put Freeman in control. The Flyers last 11 points came from the free throw line.
Walter said playing three physical basketball games in as many days was worth it.
“Oh yeah, I’m sore,” the sophomore said. “But the people of Freeman are gonna love this. We had not been that good in basketball for the past few years, but after tonight, I’m really excited for what’s going to happen for Freeman. This win means a lot for a lot of people.”
Wall’s third-place finish its best ever at State B
Key baskets and defensive stops late in the game helped seal Wall’s best-ever result at the State B.
The Eagles, seeded sixth, fended off No. 8 Lyman 58-55 to take home the third-place trophy. They rallied after trailing 53-46 with four minutes left in the game.
“Obviously, we wanted to be playing the late game, but I’m just so proud of our guys,” said head coach Ryan Kjerstad. “The way we play, 94 feet, man, our legs were gone, but we still found a way to get it done.”
Wall’s Teelan Kjerstad takes a jump shot over Lyman’s MJ Diehm during the third-place game at the State B tournament Saturday, March 21 at the Barnett Center. Wall won the game 53-50. Photo by Kevin Foss for the Aberdeen Insider.
Wall led 14-12 after the first quarter and pushed its advantage to nine, 28-19, on a Teelan Kjerstad three-pointer with 4:39 left in the second.
But the Raiders fought back and appeared to be in good shape before Wall made its late push.
Emmet Dinger’s three-pointer put the Eagles up 54-53 with 2:44 to play. Jace Mohr made two free throws with nine seconds left to account for the final points of the game.
MORE: State B: Castlewood, Freeman set to meet for State B crown
The Eagles made seven threes Saturday after knocking down 12 against Freeman Friday in the semifinals.
“Our legs were a little dead, and a lot of our misses tonight were short and we kind of figured we wouldn’t hit 12 again, but we hit them when we needed to, which helped us pull out the win,” Teelan said.
Dinger also scored 16 points for Wall, including four threes.
“(Lyman) did a pretty good job slowing us down in transition, and, honestly, my legs were a little heavy because this was day three,” he said. “I didn’t shoot the ball that well on day one, but the past couple games I shot it a lot better. Being one of the (eight) seniors, we just really wanted to go out with a win, so you just play your hardest no matter how you’re feeling.”
Coach Kjerstad said the Eagles showed heart during the tournament.
“You saw it on display this weekend. They play with that extra something, I don’t know what it’s called, but they have it — grit, confidence, passion — it’s special, and you know it when you see it, and it’s been so much fun watching this group play together,” he said.
MJ Diehm finished with 22 points for the Raiders. Dawsen Volmer added 20.
Viborg-Hurley’s Brody Schroedermeier slams down two of his 25 points during the Cougars’ 72-53 win over Sully Buttes in the seventh-place game at the Class B Boys State Basketball Tournament at the Barnett Center. Aberdeen Insider photo by Robb Garofalo.
Top-seeded Cougars end tourney with win over Sully Buttes
Viborg-Hurley entered the State B tournament as the No. 1 seed, but picked up its only win in the seventh-place game by defeating seventh-seeded Sully Buttes 72-53.
Brody Schroedermeier and Jake Austin both scored 25 points for the victorious Cougars.
Wesley Wittler of Sully Buttes takes a jump shot over Viborg-Hurley’s Linn Vanorsdel during the seventh-place game at the State B tournament at Wachs Arena. Photo by Kevin Foss for the Aberdeen Insider.
Viborg/Hurley was up 25-23 at halftime before building a lead in the second half. Braydyn Morrison sank a three-pointer to put the Cougars up 42-33 with 36 seconds remaining in the third quarter. In the fourth, Austin’s three made it 52-40 with 4:11 to play.
The Cougars made seven free throws in the final 1:45 to salt away the game.
Wes Wittler led the Chargers with 18 points. He scored a combined 65 points in his three State B games.
The senior was also named the Spirit of Su award winner.
“I guess the fact we made it here to state helped me raise my game,” Wittler said. “There’s a bunch of teams sitting at home, so I just wanted to use these last three games of the season to my advantage. I mean, yeah, we were all a little tired at the end, but we didn’t want to waste the opportunity to play together one last time.”
Easton Moore led the Chargers with 23 points.
Wittler, who ended his career as the Sully Buttes’ all-time leading scorer in boys basketball, said the team was a special group.
“We just had a great group of guys in the locker room and just made it so much easier for me this year,” Wittler said. “I don’t think a lot of people would have picked us to make it here.”
All-Tournament Team: Jake Austin, Viborg-Hurley; Wesley Wittler, Sully Buttes; Luke Kaiser, Aberdeen Christian; Grant Wilkinson, De Smet; MJ Diehm, Lyman; Tyler Kjerstad, Wall; Emmet Dinger, Wall; Kamden Keszler, Castlewood; Will Aderhold, Castlewood; David Walter, Freeman; Tate Sorenson, Freeman; Luke Peters, Freeman.
Spirit of Su: Wesley Wittler, Sully Buttes
Spirit of Six winner: Freeman
Saturday, March 21 results
Championship game: No. 2 Freeman 61, No. 5 Castlewood 53
Third place-game: No 6 Wall 58, No. 8 Lyman 55
Consolation championship: No. 3 De Smet 56, No. 4 Aberdeen Christian 45
Seventh-place game: No. 1 Viborg-Hurley 72, No. 7 Sully Buttes 53
Class A
The Monument, Rapid City
Saturday, March 21 results
Championship game: No. 2 West Central 66, No. 1 Sioux Falls Christian 56
Third-place gameNo. 4 Hamlin 61, No. 3 Clark/Willow Lake 43
Consolation championship No. 8 Rapid City St. Thomas More 63, No. 7 Cheyenne-Eagle Butte 40
Seventh-place game: No. 5 Groton Area 61, No. 6 Stanley County 43
Spirit of Su: Jackson Wadsworth, Hamlin
Spirit of Six: Hamlin
Class AA
The Monument, Rapid City
Saturday, March 21 results
Championship game: No. 3 Huron 59, No. 1 Sioux Falls Lincoln 47
Third-place game: No. 2 Sioux Falls Roosevelt 76, No. 4 Harrisburg 72
Consolation championship: No. 5 Watertown 64, No. 7 Brandon Valley 60
Seventh-place game: No. 9 Tea Area 63, No. 6 Sioux Falls O’Gorman 51
Spirit of Su: Sam DeGroot, Sioux Falls Lincoln
Spirit of Six: Harrisburg
