Before the Free State High boys basketball team faced Kansas City (Mo.) Hogan Prep on Saturday, the coaching staff didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary about Hogan Prep’s Terrance Hill, who stands 6-foot-4.

That is, until Hill, one of the tallest players on the court, brought the ball down the floor. Quick change of plans for Free State coach Chuck Law.

Law’s defensive adjustments worked effectively, as Free State defeated Hogan Prep, 58-49, at Leavenworth High to win the consolation bracket and finish fifth overall in the Citizens National Bank Basketball Tournament.

As for Saturday, Law knew he had to resort to an alternate defensive game plan after the first possession.

“I knew No. 44 was a good player, but I didn’t know he was going to be a 6-4 point guard,” Law said of Hill. “I saw 6-4 in the program and heard he was a big, physical kid, so I thought that was going to be the Christian Ballard matchup.”

For the first possession of the game, Ballard, Free State’s 6-foot-4 senior center, guarded Hill. However, Ballard’s defensive strengths are altering opposing shots in the paint and rebounding. Law didn’t want Ballard guarding Hill 25 feet away from the basket.

So for the rest of the game, Law utilized a combination of zone defense and man-to-man defense, with junior forward Weston Wiebe guarding Hill.

It worked. Free State held Hill to 13 points and forced a glaring 25 Hogan Prep turnovers.

FREE STATE HIGH'S KRIS WILSON dribbles past the Hogan Prep defense. Wilson scored a team-high 15 points in Saturday's tournament victory at Leavenworth.

“The thing with him was that he’s real quick and had a lot of head fakes,” Wiebe said of Hill. “He tried to get by me, so I just tried to stay back, hold my ground and not jump on his ball fakes.”

Wiebe was also productive offensively, scoring 12 points. Saturday marked the second game in a row junior guard Kris Wilson led Free State (3-1) in scoring. He had 15. Ballard also finished in double figures with 10.

But the most pleasant surprise for Free State’s offense was the play of Anthony Russell. The junior guard, who moved to Kansas this year from Kirksville, Mo., had 11 points combined in the first two games of the tournament. On Saturday, he came off the bench to score 14, including two critical three-pointers.

“He’s only been with us for about four weeks,” Law said of Russell. “As his comfort level increases, he’s going to be a very nice player for us.”

Russell has been the most pure long-distance shooter for Free State this season. It really should come as no surprise, though, based on his dedication to shooting.

“I usually shoot 50 or 60 threes after practice is over, just to get my shot down, so I can keep it comfortable,” Russell said.

Russell refused to take sole credit for his open looks against Hogan Prep.

“The big guys did a really good job down low, enabling the guards to get a lot of good shots,” he said. “We’re playing some pretty good team ball right now and getting some open looks.

“And that’s my job – to come out and knock down some open shots.”

Free State finished the tournament with a 2-1 record.