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| Published March 4, 2004 :: Home |
Dresback Powers
Freeman to Semis He was fully aware, he said, that even though his Freeman Scotties had given Brewster a scare in a recent regional game, the long-range effect might not be to his liking. Especially since Freeman’s 60-37 pasting of Bellevue Christian on Thursday night earned the Scotties a rematch in Friday’s Class 1A state tournament semifinals in the SunDome. “Sometimes if you kick the bear, all you’re going is getting the bear mad and then he rises up,” Thacker said. “So you never know. What I hope will be going through their minds is, ‘Holy crap, Freeman won.’ That’s what I’m hoping.” The Scotties, 19-11, lost 59-55 to the defending champions and prohibitive favorites in this tournament in their next-to-last regional game. Against Bellevue Christian, 18-6, they played with poise and purpose, holding the Vikings to 33 percent shooting in a surprisingly emphatic win. Though Freeman led throughout, its advantage was only 28-26 after BC freshman standout Jeffrey Downs scored with 5:28 to play in the third quarter. From there, however, the Scotties staged a 13-2 run for a 41-28 cushion at the end of the period, then scored 19 of the game’s final 28 points to win going away. Jon Dresback, Freeman’s only senior, maneuvered inside for 25 points on 11-of-19 shooting despite standing only 6-feet against taller opponents. He was also the primary defender of Downs, a mercurical 6-4 guard who finished with 19 points and seven rebounds. No other players scored in double figures. The Scotties, leading 16-6, saw Bellevue Christian rally as Downs scored eight points during the final nine minutes of the first half to help the Vikings get within 26-19 at halftime. Dresback started Freeman’s decisive surge with an inside basket, Dan Sanders added a three-point play and Kevin Hatch followed with another. Sanders capped the 10-0 burst with another inside hoop and Dresback added six points in the fourth quarter. Thacker, the brother of longtime Walla Walla coach Jim Thacker, was quick to pinpoint defense as the key to a surge which has seen Freeman win nine of its last 12 games. “I’ve always been defense-oriented,” Thacker said, “and I thought it was the difference tonight. We prefer man-to-man, but if you understand and execute man-to-man fundamentals you can play any kind of defense.” Well enough to hold Bellevue Christian to fewer than 10 points in three of the four quarters while limiting the Viks to 28 percent shooting in the second half. Freeman also forced 17 turnovers while committing only 10.
“These kids have kind of had to find their niche,”
Thacker said. “It’s almost an entirely different group than the one we
brought here last year (which finished 25-6 and finished seventh).”
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