Overland Park ? Free State High’s boys basketball players have struggled to shoot the ball for most of the season. But when they needed a basket against St. James Academy on Thursday, all of those problems disappeared.

The Firebirds fought back from a six-point deficit in the fourth quarter for a 49-42 victory in the first round of the Saints Classic at St. Thomas Aquinas.

Trailing 37-32 in the first few minutes of the fourth quarter, FSHS junior Hunter Gudde chased down an offensive rebound in the corner, and passed to 6-foot-5 sophomore Sloan Thomsen on the near wing, who immediately pulled the trigger and drained a three-pointer.

On the next possession, senior Weston Hack made a three-pointer of his own at the top of the arc. Then, sophomore Jacob Pavlyak grabbed a steal and took it coast-to-coast for a layup and a 40-37 advantage.

The Firebirds (5-4) never trailed again with layups by Hack and junior Chrision Wilburn, and enough free throws down the stretch from Pavlyak, Hack and Gudde to secure the win.

“Our sets worked every time that we ran them,” said Gudde, who scored nine points and added seven rebounds and five assists. “We just got it done.”

Free State struggled in the first quarter, with the Thunder (2-8) turning a few offensive rebounds into a pair of threes. But the Firebirds ended the first half on an 11-2 run to tie the game with another key three-pointer from Thomsen, a layup by senior point guard Andrew Keating, and a few baskets, including a buzzer beater, from Gudde.

“We have not been making open shots. Tonight we got some open shots and hit them,” FSHS coach Chuck Law said. “You can just see how the whole tenor of the game changes because when we’re not making shots, you can see everybody starts pressing.”

Part of the problem for the Firebirds in the first half was playing without their leading scorer Hack, who ran into foul trouble.

But that led to big contributions from players off of the bench. Thomsen scored six points with two clutch threes, Pavlyak had six points and two assists, and Wilburn added six points and three rebounds. They also played a big role in the Firebirds’ zone defense, which held the Thunder to 31 percent shooting in the second half (5-for-16).

“They show it at practice every day,” said Keating after being asked if anyone off of the bench surprised him Thursday.

The Firebirds will face Aquinas (7-2, ranked No. 3 in 5A) at 7:45 tonight in the semifinals.

FREE STATE (49)

Andrew Keating 4-6 0-0 9, Weston Hack 3-6 5-6 13, Justin Narcomey 0-2 0-0 0, Hunter Gudde 4-7 1-2 9, Jack Raney 0-1 0-0 0, Chrision Wilburn 3-4 0-0 6, Jacob Pavlyak 2-4 2-4 6, Jay Dineen 0-1 0-0 0, Caleb Holland 0-0 0-0 0, Sloan Thomsen 2-3 0-0 6. Totals 18-34 8-12 49.

ST. JAMES (42)

Zach Thornhill 2-6 0-0 6, Zach Wagner 2-5 0-0 4, Will McKee 1-5 0-0 2, Collin McKee 3-7 3-6 10, Mitchell Zubradt 4-10 2-2 11, Kreed Collins 1-1 0-0 2, Reese Welding 1-3 1-2 3, Keenan Fitzmorris 0-0 0-0 0, Daniel Feiden 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 16-41 6-10 42.

St. James 13 8 11 10 — 42

Free State 7 14 9 19 — 49

Three-point field goals: Free State 5-11 (Thomsen 2, Hack 2, Keating); St. James 4-16 (Thornhill 2, C. McKee, Zubradt). Fouled out: C. McKee. Turnovers: Free State 10, St. James 11.