Hack, Gudde power FSHS

No defense was going to stop Free State High senior guard Weston Hack and junior forward Hunter Gudde on Saturday night. Not with the way they were shooting.

The two Firebirds combined for 46 points and 16 rebounds in a 63-47 victory against William Chrisman (Missouri) at FSHS.

Hack scored 16 points in the first half, knocking down his first five shots. He also scored Free State’s last seven points in the second quarter, including a buzzer-beating layup. When the Bears put more attention on Hack after halftime, Gudde scored 10 of his team’s first 13 points to open the second half.

“They’ve been really good all year long,” FSHS coach Chuck Law said. “That’s no secret: Those two make us go.”

Gudde’s personal 6-0 run to begin the third quarter pushed Free State’s lead into double-digits. The Firebirds (10-8) then scored on three straight possessions in a two-minute stretch midway through the period, with two layups by Gudde and a layup-and-the foul bucket by sophomore guard Jacob Pavlyak.

One day after struggling to make shots against fourth-ranked Olathe East, the Firebirds shot a blistering 62 percent from the field (21-for-34). Gudde shot a perfect 7-for-7 and was 6-for-6 at the free-throw line.

“Olathe East and them are two completely different teams,” said Hack, who scored a game-high 24 points. “Olathe East has a lot of size in the paint, length on the wing, whereas they really couldn’t match that. It was just a little bit easier to get going tonight.”

The Bears (14-10) led for most of the first quarter after knocking down their first three three-pointers over Free State’s 2-3 zone defense. But, the Firebirds responded with a three-pointer of their own from sophomore Sloan Thomsen and an old-fashioned three-point play by sophomore Jay Dineen.

In the second half, Free State slowed down Chrisman’s top three-point threats, senior Chris Horn and junior Eli Henderson, by face-guarding them with Pavlyak, Dineen, senior Andrew Keating and senior Justin Narcomey. Pavlyak returned to the court Friday after missing several games because of an injury.

“We played fine without Jacob, but Jacob gives us a different element,” Law said. “He’s a really good athlete. He knows how to play, confident kid for a sophomore. It was nice to see him come back in. We didn’t use him much at all last night, but he really gave us some good minutes off of the bench today.”

With plenty of Firebirds focused on stopping the Bears, Gudde provided the offense. The 6-foot-2 forward, who can also play point guard, scored 16 of his 20 points in the second half.

“I didn’t really do anything differently,” Gudde said. “I got more looks down low. … I didn’t really have any straight drives. My teammates just passed me the ball down there, and I got open layups.”

After the Bears cut the score to 47-38 with 7:37 left in the fourth quarter, Hack and Gudde went on a 7-0 run, mostly from the free-throw line, to help the Firebirds pull away. Pavlyak and junior forward Chrision Wilburn added buckets later in the period.

“I’m sure coach sort of planned this out on purpose,” Hack said. “Obviously last night was a tough one, Senior Night and everything. But we were able to bounce back today and get our confidence back up and hopefully start another win streak.”

The Firebirds will go on the road to face Shawnee Mission West at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

WILLIAM CHRISMAN (47)

Ronnie Cravens 5-11 1-3 11, Chris Redmond 0-2 0-0 0, Justin Dickerson 3-6 2-4 9, Gannon Ogle 0-2 0-0 0, Eli Henderson 3-8 4-4 13, Chris Horn 4-11 0-0 11, Randall Horn 1-2 1-2 3, Grady Ogle 0-1 0-0 0, Mason Atagi 0-2 0-0 0, Connor Ruch 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 16-44 8-13 47.

FREE STATE (63)

Andrew Keating 0-1 0-0 0, Weston Hack 7-9 10-14 24, Justin Narcomey 0-2 2-2 2, Hunter Gudde 7-7 6-6 20, Jack Raney 0-2 0-0 0, Sloan Thomsen 1-2 0-0 3, Jay Dineen 1-1 1-1 3, Jacob Pavlyak 2-6 1-1 5, Chrision Wilburn 2-3 0-0 4, Darian Lewis 1-2 0-1 2, Caleb Holland 0-0 0-0 0, Shannon Cordes 0-0 0-2 0, Kristian Rawls 0-0 0-0 0, Zion Bowlin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-34 20-29 63.

Chrisman 11 13 12 11 — 47

Free State 17 13 17 16 — 63

Three-point field goals: William Chrisman 7-13 (Henderson 3, Horn 3, Dickerson); Free State 1-6 (Thomsen). Turnovers: William Chrisman 9, Free State 12.