by James Tate
Silverwolves’ Hunter Hansen has a great first half
The “Den” at Fremont High School was electric as Hunter Hansen scored at will in the first half. He scored a game-high 18 points for the Silverwolves. Hansen, a junior, scored his first basket 30 seconds into the game, but the Falcons would keep close with a layup by senior Trace Hansen to even the score at two. The first quarter saw the Falcons go up 6-2 after layups by senior center Austin Mitchell and senior guard Trace Hansen.
With 3:54 left in the first quarter and the game tied at eight, Falcons’ senior guard James Barraza was fouled. He made one of two free throws to give the Falcons a 9-8 lead. This would be the last lead the Falcons would have as Silverwolves’ senior guard Boston Hadley drained a three-point shot to put Fremont up 11-9.
On the next Falcons’ possession, Mitchell tied the score at 11 with a layup. Hansen then made three straight shots for Fremont, and with the crowd roaring, Fremont led 17-11 with 1:17 left in the first quarter. The first quarter ended with Falcons’ junior center Chase Mcneill making a layup, then a short jumper to close the score at 17-15. Hansen scored 14 of the Silverwolves’ 17 first-quarter points.
Second quarter
Fremont’s senior guard Treyden Hoggan started the second quarter scoring with a three-point shot to put the Silverwolves up 20-15. Hansen made another layup for Fremont to extend the lead to seven, 22- 15, with 4:45 left in the second quarter. Silverwolves’ sophomore guard Easton Duft made a three-point shot with 4:10 on the clock, and the score was 25-15.
Falcon’s senior guard Lincoln Church came back with his three-point basket with 3:50 left before halftime. With 1:40 remaining before halftime, Fremont’s Hansen made a short jump shot in the lane but landed awkwardly and stayed down on the court. Hansen made the shot to put Fremont up 27- 18 but would not return to the game.
Senior Braden Flinders immediately gave the Silverwolves a lift before halftime by making two three-point baskets. One was at the buzzer and gave Fremont a 35-18 halftime advantage. The three-point basket by Church was the only made shot for the Falcons in the second quarter.
Third quarter
The second half started with the Hoggan draining a three-point shot to move the Silverwolves up by 20, 38-18. Mitchell quickly answered back with an alley-oop dunk with 6:50 on the clock. Fremont’s senior David Calvert finally made his presence felt with an open-court dunk to move the lead up to 20 again, 40-20. Fremont’s largest lead of the game was 21 after a steal and layup by Flinders to make the score 46-25 with 3:07 left in the third quarter. The third period ended 47-28 after Church made one of two free throws for the Falcons.
Fourth quarter
Church made his second three-point basket of the game early in the fourth quarter, and 47-31 was the score. Both teams played solid defense and made it difficult to score the rest of the game. The Falcons would cut the lead down to 10 with 1:17 remaining by outscoring Fremont 12-5 to end the game. The game ended with Calvert making a layup and giving the Silverwolves a 52-40 victory.
Outstanding performances
After Hansen went down, Flinders stepped up defensively and on offense by getting teammates open shots. Hoggan made a game-high three, three-point baskets for the Silverwolves.
Mitchell was a force inside for the Falcons and led the team with 14 points. Church was the other Falcon in double figures with 11 points.
photo courtesy James Tate of Fremont’s Hunter Hansen