photo by: Nathan Swaffar/Special to the Journal-World

Free State coach Dwayne Paul speaks to his team in the huddle during a substate playoff game against Derby on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, in Derby.

DERBY — Despite trailing by double digits multiple times throughout its 6A boys substate matchup, Free State refused to go away against Derby on Wednesday night.

As the No. 14-seeded heavy underdog, Free State overcame adversity throughout the game. But in the end, third-seeded Derby proved to be too much as the Panthers ended the Firebirds’ season with a 67-59 victory.

Even when Free State (7-17) was within striking distance and using momentum to its advantage, it seemed like there was always a mistake, a foul or a momentum-killing play from Derby. Free State head coach Dwayne Paul said those untimely plays made it difficult to get a real shot at the Panthers’ lead.

“It was hard, but that’s what good teams do,” Paul said. “Good teams, they fight, that’s basketball. They punched, we counterpunched. When we punched them, they got up off the canvas, came back and kept punching.”

Derby (18-6) was intent on setting the tone early on with its physicality, relentlessly hounding Free State on defense and in a full-court press. However, the Firebirds responded by matching the physical presence and only trailed 13-9 with two minutes left in the first quarter.

But the press still forced the Firebirds into numerous turnovers early on. That helped the Panthers embark on a 6-0 scoring run to end the quarter.

Free State’s ability to go blow for blow with Derby’s physicality kept the lead within striking distance. However, the Panthers maintained their advantage, thanks in large part to the Firebirds’ continued struggles with ball security, which led to more offensive chances on the other end. And thanks to a buzzer-beating floater at the end of the half, Derby took a 30-20 lead into the locker room.

Out of the half, Free State looked calm and confident, quickly scoring the first four points of the half to bring the lead back down to six. Derby took a quick timeout to stunt the momentum, and the Panthers rebounded and extended their lead to 10 at 38-28 just a few minutes later.

Again, though, the undaunted Firebirds scored five straight and continued to chip at the lead through the third quarter. It looked as if Free State would have a chance to take the lead down to one point with an and-1 at the end of the third quarter, but the bucket was waved off and called an offensive foul. Even so, Derby’s lead was in jeopardy at 43-39.

Free State briefly cut the margin to three points early in the fourth, but Derby responded in kind with a quick 5-0 run to extend its lead back to eight. Despite a technical foul on Paul for arguing a call, the Firebirds fought hard, only trailing by four with four and a half minutes to go. But in the end, Derby’s composure under pressure made it impossible for the Firebirds to complete the comeback.

Brendan Barrett led the way in the scoring department for Free State, ending with a team-high 15 points. Bennett Nagel and Ethan Prescott each had 12. Avant Riley led Derby with 23 points.

Regardless of the loss, Paul was extremely proud of the way his team fought throughout the game, even when it appeared as if Derby could pull away, while also giving deserved credit to the Panther program.

“They played hard, played selfless,” Paul said. “Me and Coach (Brett) Flory talk all the time in the offseason, tons of respect for him and this program, the way they play, how hard they play, how selfless they play. Nobody wants to lose the last game of the year, but at least if you play as hard as you can, you’ll be able to look yourself in the mirror and say ‘I gave it everything I had.'”