SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Blake Freedman, the Glendale Falcons senior point guard, is the ultimate example in the Ozarks of how heart, determination, and hustle can be the difference in a game.
On Tuesday night under the bright lights of the O’Reilly Family Event Center on the campus of Drury University, Glendale defeated the Kickapoo Chiefs 68-60.
Freedman had a big impact on the game on both ends of the floor. Freedman’s intensity is one of his distinctive traits.
"Defense is all about effort and desire and Blake always brings that," Glendale head coach Sean Williamson said.
On defense, Freedman took on the task of guarding Ryan Rippee, who has over six inches of height on him. But Freedman did a good job on Rippee, not allowing him to hurt the Falcons too much.
"I've said this before, he is the heart and soul of our team and that is what he was tonight," Coach Williamson said. "He was severely undersized guarding Rippee but he did a great job."
Offensively, Freedman is the man who controls the tempo for the Falcons. He knows when to create offense for himself or when to give the ball up to an open teammate for a shot.
In the first quarter, Freedman did a good job distributing the ball and getting others involved early. Senior Joey Harbour had two big three pointers in the first quarter that got the Falcons out to a quick 13-4 lead.
Freedman had 11 points in the first half, and finished the game with 20 points.
Kickapoo was able to stay in the game in the first half, even though they were getting outplayed. The Chiefs exposed the Falcons in the paint with Rippee along with junior Chris Ward. The duo combined for 20 first half points, and had the team only trailing by five points at halftime, 36-31.
"They [Glendale] got most 50-50 balls. They got a lot of second chances and got the loose balls," Coach Rippee said.
The second half was a whole new story for Kickapoo. They came out with the determination to not only chip away at the Falcons’ lead, but also take the lead back. The Chiefs took a 39-38 lead with 5:35 left in the third quarter, their first lead since 2-0.
"I felt our guys came out with fire and intensity. They played with a purpose and they played well," Coach Rippee said.
Kickapoo's switch to a zone defense also gave Glendale issues, as the Falcons were not able to make adjustments.
A 10-2 run by Ryan Rippee and the Chiefs had Glendale in a bind heading into the fourth quarter, trailing 50-41.
Blake Freedman has been the leader of the Glendale Falcons all season, and was determined not to let his team loose. Big shots by Freedman and seniors Cameron Johnson and Nolan Bettlach got Glendale to within four points with just under five minutes left in the game.
And then a big three by senior Thomas Halter, who was only in the game because starter Thomas Whittaker was in foul trouble, tied the game at 55-55 with 4:34 left in the game.
"This was a good gut-check. All five guys needed to step up and also play defense and they did," Coach Williamson said.
During the fourth quarter, Glendale went on an 18-5 run to take the lead, and eventually hold on for the win.
"This was a game of runs and they had the last run and we just could not overcome it,” Coach Rippee said.
Senior Cameron Johnson ended the game with an exclamation point dunk with less than 10 seconds left to seal the game for Glendale.
Lead by their seniors Glendale improved their ranking in the Ozark Conference standings, and now has momentum heading into the final few games of their schedule.
Scoring for Glendale: Blake Freedman 20, Cameron Johnson 20, Nolan Bettlach 11, Joey Harbour 9, Thomas Halter 5, Thomas Whittaker 3
Scoring for Kickapoo: Ryan Rippee 22, Tyler Bussell 11, Chris Ward 11, Hunter Stark 5, Jack Simpson 4, Ryan Thornhill 3, Tyson Batiste 2
