photo by: Chance Parker

Free State junior Mozae Downing drives to the paint against Campus. Free State lost 42-37 Thursday, March 11, 2021/

It was exactly the type of game Free State boys basketball team could have hoped for. It just didn’t end in a win.

Free State held Haysville-Campus to its lowest offensive output of the season, but the Firebirds couldn’t make enough shots in their eventual 42-37 season-ending loss to the Colts in the Class 6A semifinals Thursday night at Wichita State University.

“Sign me up,” Free State coach Sam Stroh said of when he learned Haysville-Campus scored just 42 points, which was 28 points below its season average.

Campus will now face Blue Valley North in the state championship game at 2 p.m. Saturday.

“If we make some shots, we win the game,” Stroh said.

Entering the game, Stroh said the Firebirds (20-4) hoped to hold the Colts (21-2) to 55 points. It seemed like an attainable feat given that Free State’s calling card has been its team defense all year on its way to a fifth consecutive trip to the state tournament.

Free State’s zone defense did much better than that, though. It marked the second time in the last three games that FSHS played zone for the duration of the contest, something Stroh had previously never done in his coaching career.

The Colts went 16-for-41 from the floor, and were led by a 20-point performance from Tulsa signee Sterling Chapman. Campus, which is an athletic team that normally likes to get out in transition, settled for 14 attempts from long range. The Colts made just two of them.

“We were basically pressuring their shooters,” senior Andrew Piper said of what Free State’s defense was able to do.

But the other side of the floor is ultimately what did the Firebirds in. And you don’t have to look hard to figure out how they could have found a few more points in this one.

Free State only knocked down one of its 13 attempts from beyond the arc. That triple came from junior Cooper Jackson, who drilled it from the left wing on the kick-out pass from Piper midway through the second quarter.

In addition, FSHS went 4-for-14 from the free throw line. Junior Dash Cleveland converted on two such attempts, as he went 2-of-2 from the charity stripe. Senior Kris Daniels and Piper made one free throw apiece as well.

“We just couldn’t make a basket,” Stroh said. “It was tough, we just couldn’t make a shot.”

That was never more obvious than down the stretch, when Free State desperately needed to find a basket to keep its season alive.

FSHS took a 31-30 lead into the fourth quarter, but Haysville-Campus scored back-to-back baskets from Chapman (dunk) and senior Steven Strong Jr. (layup) to open the final period. The Colts were able to stall things out from then, including a possession where they held the ball for nearly two minutes straight.

Still, the Firebirds had their chances in the closing moments. Jackson missed a triple from the right wing with three seconds left to play that might have sent the game into overtime. It was a good look, especially considering the Firebirds didn’t have a timeout to draw something up.

“We worked on it today in shoot-around,” Stroh said. “They did a good job showing on those dribble-handoffs. We still got a decent look.”

Free State had a few more chances on its offensive trips leading up to that final possession, however.

With 32.2 second left to play, junior guard Mozae Downing drove hard to the rim and finished through contact. He then missed the ensuing and-one that would have evened up the score. It came after Downing missed a pair of free throws on two different trips to the line.

Downing responded with a strong floater with 15 seconds remaining, which cut the deficit back to a one-point margin. Campus was just able to hit its free throws down the stretch, knocking down all eight of its attempts from the charity stripe.

“Sometimes the shot just doesn’t go in,” Piper said. “And that was tonight. We just couldn’t find a bucket.”

It spoiled an otherwise stellar showing by the Firebirds, who played remarkably well on defense and had plenty of hustles plays all over the floor.

Free State emphasized crashing the glass, and sophomore Jailen Thompson obliged by grabbing eight rebounds to lead the team in that department. Senior Cole Wheeler secured six rebounds of his own. Jackson had active hands all night, which led to team-best five steals.

In addition to leading the team in scoring with 10 points, Downing also finished with three assists to pace FSHS in that category. Downing finished with two steals to provide a well-balanced stat line in his 28 minutes of action.

“It hurts,” Stroh said of the season-ending loss. “Looking forward to getting back in the summertime, hopefully we will have a normal summer. But we will need some time off right now, this one stings.”

Free State (37)

Kris Daniels 2-4 1-2 5, Mozae Downing 5-11 0-4 10, Dash Cleveland 2-2 2-3 6, Andrew Piper 2-6 1-3 5, Cooper Jackson 3-7 0-0 7, Jailen Thompson 2-4 0-2 4, Cole Wheeler 0-3 0-0 0, Isaac Gonzales 0-4 0-0 0. Totals: 16-41 FG 4-14 FT 37 points.

Campus (42)

Zion Young 2-5 0-0 4, Sterling Chapman 7-14 6-6 20, Jayden Hall 2-5 0-0 4, Steven Strong Jr. 4-13 0-0 10, Andrell Burton Jr. 1-2 0-0 2, Aiden Sutter 0-2 0-0 0, Christopher Martin 0-0 2-2 2. Totals: 16-41 FG 8-8 FT 42 points.

Free State 9 12 10 6 — 37

Campus 10 10 10 12 — 42

Three-point goals: FS 1-13 (Jackson); HC 2-14 (Strong 2). Turnovers: FS 12, HC 12. Fouled out: Burton Jr., HC.