• Photo Showcase: State tournament: Thursday
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LINCOLN — At 6-foot-9 and 200-plus pounds, Freeman senior Kyle Schlake is used to carrying a heavy load.
Schlake put his Falcon teammates on his shoulders with 18 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots to help Freeman defeat Sandhills/Thedford 54-43 in Class D-1 first-round state basketball tournament game Thursday at Lincoln Northeast.
The Knights (18-7), who didn't have a starter taller than 6-2, tried to use their speed and quickness at the guard positions to counter Freeman's height advantage.
“Our height is a big thing,'' Freeman coach Jim McLaughlin said. “If we can win the first 60 feet, our height can really play a factor.
“But late in the second quarter and early in the third, we had a little trouble getting the ball up the floor due to their pressure and quickness.''
Freeman connected on 6 of 13 field-goal attempts in the first quarter. Schlake, a Northwest Missouri State recruit, scored eight points to fuel the Falcons to an 18-8 lead after one quarter.
“Our start was nice. It gave us a little cushion, and we responded well to their little runs,'' McLaughlin said. “Sandhills/Thedford is a dangerous team offensively. They're capable of knocking down big shots.''
Kellen Unvert's free throw gave Freeman (24-2) a 23-8 advantage. But Sandhills/Thedford closed the gap to 23-15 with a 7-0 spurt that was capped by Tyler Lee's basket with 4:08 left in the first half.
Freeman took a 30-17 lead into halftime and led 39-25 after a 3-point basket by Eric Rapp with 5:39 to go in the third quarter.
The Knights kept pecking away but didn't get any closer than 10 points.
“Their No. 24 (Kale Anderson) and No. 10 (Matt Thomas) are quick,'' McLaughlin said. “They caused us a lot of problems.''
Unvert added 13 points for Freeman, and Rapp had 12.
Anderson topped Sandhills/Thedford with 15 points, followed by Thomas with 11.
“We had some kids step up and hit shots,'' McLaughlin said. “And we got some offensive rebounds that led to some easy putback buckets. Our guys play hard — they don't know any other way to play.''
Freeman (24-2) 1812159—54
Sandhillls/Thedford (18-7) 891610—43
F: Eric Rapp 12, Adam Frerichs 7, Dallas Ashelford 1, Kellen Unvert 13, Kyle Schlake 18, Jordan Pella 3.
ST: Matt Thomas 11, Brady Marten 3, Tyler Lee 3, Cole Seeley 4, Ty Keller 7, Kale Anderson 15.
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