Freedom pulls away late to defeat Fox Valley Lutheran in battle of NEC boys basketball leaders
By Dustin Riese
For AppletonSportsPage.com
APPLETON – Two of the best boys basketball teams in the North Eastern Conference squared off on Thursday night, as Freedom, the second-ranked team in this week’s Division 3 state poll, took on second-place Fox Valley Lutheran in a massive conference clash.
Freedom, off to an unbeaten start in the NEC, has been led by standout sophomore Donovan Davis and the Foxes knew they were going to have to bring their A-Game to the table on their home court.
Davis wasn’t the only one the Foxes had to worry about as Drew Kortz and Kaden Vandenberg give the Irish three of the top playmakers in the conference. Those three proved to be the difference once again as they combined for 60 of the 75 Irish points and equaled the output of the entire Foxes roster in what was a 75-60 Freedom victory.
Freedom moves to 10-1 overall and 7-0 in the NEC, while FVL (7-2 overall) falls back into third place in the standings at 4-2.
After watching Gabe Heiges knock down the first shot of the game to put the Foxes in front, it was all Freedom from there as Vandenberg connected for a game-tying layup before stepping outside for the triple as he scored the first five points for Freedom en route to his 16-point effort. Davis followed that up with a tough reverse lay up to extend the Irish lead to five before Heiges knocked down his first 3-pointer of the game as part of his team-high 15 points.
That was about all of the excitement in the early going for the Foxes as Kortz responded for four quick points as part of an 11-0 Irish run to extend the Freedom lead to 18-5.
Davis capped off that run with a massive slam in transition as he and Kortz were responsible for all of the Irish points in the opening minutes. The same can be said about Heiges, who connected for his second 3-poointer of the game to make it 18-8, as he too had all the points for his team in the early going.
The Irish continued to rely on their trio with Kortz knocking down another triple and Davis going to work on the inside as part of his game-high 23 points as the Irish stretched their lead to 31-17.
“They certainly create match-up problems, which we had to adjust to,” Fox Valley Lutheran head coach Tommy Stelter said. “I think they have a great combination of size, shooting, strength, and speed that is going to be difficult for any team in the state to deal with. They are a force on both ends of the court.”
FVL was in danger of letting things get away. It was at this point when the Foxes not only started to settle in defensively, but also began to claw back into the game. The Foxes managed to end the first half on a 10-1 run, capped off by the Graham Feidt 3-pointer at the buzzer to pull within 41-34 at the break and brought the crowd to a frenzy.
“I thought we came out a little stunned due to the atmosphere, as we had a tough time executing our offense and press break,” Stelter said. “Once we settled in, execution improved as the guys got a little more comfortable with the flow of the game. I thought we did an excellent job of pushing it back to a seven-point deficit heading into half. Credit to the guys for battling one possession at a time. Gabe Heiges was an offensive spark-plug for us in that first half.”
FVL continued to chip away in the early minutes of the second half with Lucas Papendorf scoring the first six points for the Foxes to finish with 14 points as the Foxes were within 46-40. Another clutch triple from Heiges pulled the Foxes to within 46-43 and suddenly it was a new ball game.
Freedom was simply too much for the Foxes to handle down the stretch as it broke the game open with a massive 24-9 run and a 70-52 lead. Kortz got that run started by driving right at the Foxes defense and then capped it off by hitting an open 3-pointer in the corner.
“We did a nice job of knocking down some open looks late in the first half, once we settled in,” Stelter said. “I think in the second half we left some points off the board by missing some point-blank lay-up attempts and open 3s. We also need to shoot better from the foul line. Against a team like Freedom, you can’t miss those opportunities.”
With the loss, the Foxes fell from second place to third in the NEC, but with a 7-2 mark at the midway point in the season, Stelter likes where his team is at.
“Our defense has been strong for the most part,” he said. “There are adjustments we need to continue to improve on, but that will always be the case. I think our biggest improvement needs to be on the offensive end, where we need to be more efficient in our half-court rhythm and cuts and reads. When that happens, the shots will fall. I am very pleased with our collective effort and energy so far this season.”
The Foxes will be back in action Tuesday at Waupaca.
Irish 75, Foxes 60
Freedom 41 34 – 75
Fox Valley Lutheran 34 26 – 60
FREEDOM (60): Cal Calhoon 0-3 0-0 0, A.J. Wesoloski 1-3 2-2 4, Kaden Vandenberg 6-10 0-0 16, Drew Kortz 9-15 0-0 21, Jacob Garvey 0-0 0-0 0, Parker Jochimsen 1-3 0-0 2, Sawyer Rueckl 3-3 0-0 7, Owen Henkel 1-1 0-0 2, Braeden Dayton 0-0 0-0 0, Hudson Lang 0-0 0-0 0, Donovan Davis 9-12 4-5 23, Reid Merbach 0-1 0-0 0. FG: 30-51. FT: 6-7. 3-pointers: 9-23 (Vandenberg 4-7, Kortz 3-7, Rueckl 1-1, Davis 1-2, Wesoloski 0-1, Jochimsen 0-1, Merbach 0-1, Calhoon 0-3). Rebounds: 30 (Davis 16). Record: 10-1, 7-0 North Eastern Conference.
FOX VALLEY LUTHERAN (60): Gage Heiges 6-13 1-2 15, Eligh Erickson 1-5 0-0 2, Graham Feidt 3-5 1-2 10, Callum Nowak 0-0 0-0 0, Malix Schedler 0-0 0-0 0, Jack Schuleter 0-0 0-0 0, Kaleb Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Lucas Papendorf 6-12 3-8 14, Amani Dahlke 2-5 2-4 8, Blessings Kapande 1-2 1-2 3, Caleb Dahlke 3-9 0-0 8. FG: 22-51. FT: 8-18. 3-pointers: 8-26 (Feidt 3-3, C. Dahlke 2-6, Heiges 2-7, A. Dahlke 1-2, Erickson 0-4, Kapande 0-4). Rebounds: 22 (Heiges 6). Record: 7-2, 4-2 North Eastern Conference.