• Photo Showcase: Saturday's finals

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LINCOLN — From their first day of conditioning, Freeman had been driven by the memory of losing to Ravenna in last year’s Class C-2 title game.

Coach Jim McLaughlin was quick to remind his players of that at halftime Saturday, and Kyle Schlake took his coach’s message to heart with a redemptive performance of his own.

Led by a dominant second half from the 6-foot-9 Northwest Missouri State recruit, Freeman easily topped Overton 52-38 for the school’s first Class D-1 state championship. Schlake scored 19 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, blocked six shots and walked off the Devaney Center court Saturday with a hard-earned net around his neck.

He struggled early against the physical defense of Overton’s Jared Shafer — the Eagles’ tallest defender at 6-2 — and was held to four points on 1-of-5 shooting in the first half.

“I tried to do too much and sped myself up,” Schlake said. “I just didn’t let the game come to me.”

But Schlake quickly made amends for his scoreless second quarter, getting aggressive down low and drawing fouls on three baskets in the third quarter.

Overton trailed 22-13 at the half but cut its deficit to four with an 8-3 run to start the quarter. From there, though, the towering senior took over.

He scored 10 of the Falcons’ next 12 points, electrifying Freeman fans and swinging the game’s momentum.

“We talked to Kyle about thinking a couple passes ahead so we could get the post touch a little closer to the lane,” McLaughin said. “Overton got off to a little bit of a good start, so Kyle settled down the troops a little bit, stepped up and made some plays.”

The final three points of Schlake’s streak came when he banked in a shot off a rebound while getting fouled. He hit his free throw to push Freeman’s lead to 37-24, and Overton never got any closer than seven points from there.

“They went to a 2-3 zone. It seemed like we quit attacking the basket,” Overton coach Jay Staehr said. “With the big guy in there, it’s difficult to try to take him out.”

Jordan Pella, Schlake and fellow senior Eric Rapp combined for 41 points, and McLaughlin said their hard work to make up for last season’s finale failure makes Saturday’s win even sweeter.

“I’ve always viewed this team as a continuation of that last team,” the coach said. “This season was about tying up the loose ends and the things we didn’t get done.”

Overton (21-4)...........................9 4 13 12—38
Freeman (26-2).............................10 12 17 13—52
• O: Brady Weiss 1-4 0-2 2, Zachary Olmstead 3-7 0-3 7, Jacob Olmstead 5-15 4-5 17, Jared Shafer 3-9 1-2 8, Jared Hodgson 1-3 0-0 2, Tyson Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Maximino Flores 0-0 0-0 0, Anthony Fisher 0-0 0-0 0, Jacob Jensen 0-0 0-0 0, Dalals Bevard 0-0 0-0 0, Tyler Hinkle 1-1 0-0 2, Matthew Aten 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 14-40 5-12 38.
• F: Kellen Unvert 2-5 1-2 6, Kyle Schlake 5-11 9-13 19, Eric Rapp 1-3 6-6 9, Adam Frerichs 1-3 0-0 3, Jordan Pella 6-14 0-6 13, Andrew Buhr 0-0 0-0 0, Dylan Schoneweis 0-0 0-0 0, Brandon Sedlacek 1-2 0-0 2, Dallas Ashelford 0-1 0-0 0, Haydon Scott 0-0 0-0 0, Kyle Schoen 0-0 0-0 0, Brandon Oltman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-39 16-27 52.
• 3-point goals: Overton 5-18 (Z. Olmstead 1-2, J. Olmstead 3-11, Shafer 1-3, Hodgson 0-1, Aten 0-1), Freeman 4-9 (Unvert 1-1, Rapp 1-3, Frerichs 1-2, Pella 1-3). Fouled Out—Unvert. Rebounds—Overton 27 (Shafter 11), Freeman 32 (Schlake 12). Assists—Overton 6 (Shafer 3), Freeman 7 (Rapp 4). Total Fouls—Overton 18, Freeman 13.

Contact the writer:

444-1201, sports@owh.com

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