Free State forward Chrision Wilburn (10) shoots a ball over African Centered College Prep defenders Thursday at Free State.

Free State High’s boys basketball team entered Thursday’s season opener against African Centered College Prep with a new coach, new jerseys and a few players in bigger roles.

If there were any pre-game nerves, they disappeared once the Firebirds hit their first shot. Free State rolled to an 80-37 blowout victory at FSHS, giving coach Sam Stroh his first win with his new school.

The Firebirds raced out to a 27-3 lead in the first 10 minutes, forcing nine turnovers on defense and 12 missed shots.

Sloan Thomsen, a 6-foot-5 junior, drilled a three-pointer from the right corner on the team’s second possession and Free State never looked back, scoring the first 12 points of the contest. Senior forward Hunter Gudde, senior forward Chrision Wilburn and junior guard Jacob Pavlyak added layups in the opening spurt.

“That’s the way we want to start a game — be solid on the defensive end,” Stroh said. “I thought we attacked the basket and knocked down some big shots to start the game. The first game you have to get the jitters out and I thought, after we knocked down a few shots, we were good to go.”

In the final 90 seconds of the first quarter, 6-foot-3 junior guard Shannon Cordes drained two three-pointers, including a buzzer-beater assisted from Pavlyak. Senior point guard Kristan Rawls added a layup in between Cordes’ triples.

The Firebirds had 12 different scorers Thursday, led by Gudde (16 points), Wilburn (15) and Cordes (10).

“I think that’s going to be a key with our team,” Stroh said. “Our strength in numbers, we have a lot of guys who can score it. Any given night, I think someone is capable of knocking down some shots and getting into double figures for us.”

In the second quarter, the Knights cut their deficit to 33-18 after going on a 12-4 run, but they would never pull any closer. FSHS senior forward Darian Lewis ended the first half with a buzzer-beating layup off an inbounds pass.

The Firebirds (1-0) kept momentum by scoring on eight of their first nine possessions in the second half, highlighted by 10 points from Wilburn. The 6-foot-3 senior scored on putbacks, jumped in passing lanes for steals and scored on two layup-and-the-foul buckets.

Gudde added seven points in the third quarter by driving the lane and finishing through contact near the rim.

“It’s always easier to play if you have a 20-point lead, but I think we did a good job holding that lead throughout the game,” said Gudde, who finished just shy of a double-double with 16 points and eight rebounds. “I’ve been playing with Chrision and all of them for three years now and I think all of our team chemistry is coming together. I think we’ll be real good this year.”

With the benches cleared in the fourth quarter, the Firebirds shot 9-for-14 from the floor. Sophomore Reece White-Downing led with seven points in the final period.

“This is the best night of the year – the first night to get it going,” Stroh said. “It was fun. We had a great crowd for the first night, especially being a Thursday. We have a week to get better.”

Free State will play host to Mill Valley (ranked No. 5 in Class 5A) at 7 p.m. on Dec. 11.

KC AC Prep (37)

Keishaun Oliver 3-11 2-4 8, Franklin Thornton 0-4 0-1 0, David Wright 1-6 0-0 2, John Carter 2-4 0-0 5, Morrail Bell 1-7 0-0 3, Koreyoan Mitchell 3-11 0-2 7, Isaiah Mayo 2-2 0-0 4, Divonte Cobb 0-2 1-2 1, Trevion Hobby 0-2 2-2 2, George Douglas 2-3 1-1 5, Marteno Brown 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 14-53 6-12 37.

Free State (80)

Kristian Rawls 2-3 0-0 4, Chrision Wilburn 6-10 3-7 15, Sloan Thomsen 2-5 0-0 5, Jacob Pavlyak 1-5 4-4 6, Hunter Gudde 6-9 3-5 16, Jay Dineen 0-2 0-0 0, Darian Lewis 1-4 2-4 4, Shannon Cordes 4-7 0-0 10, Reece White-Downing 3-3 0-0 7, Drew Tochtrop 3-5 0-0 6, Simon McCaffrey 0-2 2-2 2, Garrett Luinstra 0-1 1-2 1, Jalen Robinson 2-2 0-1 4. Totals 30-58 15-25 80.

AC Prep 3 15 7 12 — 37

Free State 20 17 19 24 — 80

Three-point goals: Free State 5-19 (Cordes 2, Thomsen, Gudde, White-Downing); AC Prep 3-9 (Carter, Bell, Mitchell). Turnovers: Free State 16, AC Prep 17.