MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U.COM CO-GAME OF THE WEEK (Feb. 24–March 4)
SRW BOYS BASKETBALL: #6 Belmont 51, Potosi/Cassville 49 (OT)
By Casey Lindecrantz, Republican Journal / Tri-County Press
Freeman, Braves win West title with OT win
BELMONT — Belmont can finally breathe a sigh of relief.
For the first time in over 20 years, the Braves have lifted a Six Rivers West title. They just needed an extra four minutes to accomplish the goal with a 51–49 overtime victory over a strong Potosi/Cassville in last Thursday’s regular season finale.
“It is special to bring home a conference championship with this group that is pretty young overall compared to a lot of other teams,” said Belmont head coach. “We set this goal at the beginning of the year or even dating back to the end of last season. I am proud of the boys as they made a commitment to work hard every day in practice and also share the ball so unselfishly.”
Belmont finished 13–14 overall a year ago and fourth in the Six Rivers West behind tri-champions Highland (23–4, 17–2), Potosi (22–5, 17–2), and River Ridge (23–3, 17–2). The Braves also went just 6–19 overall and 3–9 in the SRW in 2023–24, Buchs’ first year as a head coach.
Belmont’s conference title didn’t come without adversity, however. The Braves (21–2, 15–2 SRW) held the lead just twice for a total of 56 seconds in the first half.
Belmont's first lead came as junior Chase Riechers hit a catch-and-release jumper at the elbow assisted by sophomore Gavin McNett at the 10:53 mark.
The Chieftains (16–8, 14–3) had a response 53 seconds later thanks to a putback from Kolton Vogelsberg, with Alex Friederick coming in with a fading jumper at 9:31 to seal the lead change, 14–12. Only that wouldn’t be the last noise from Belmont before the end of the half.
Sophomore Thomas Freeman found himself at the line for a pair of free throws with 3.1 on the clock, and drained both to break a 20–20 tie to go into the half.
“Our gameplan was to guard the 3-point line and prevent them from shots in the paint as much as possible,” said Buchs. “We have some tough matchups with them with our big guys guarding them when they have five guards on the floor at the same time. We mixed up man-to-man and some zone defenses, and tried to not give them open looks. We did a decent job, but PC still hit some contested shots. We knew they would be a battle as Coach Uppena does a great job and had them ready to play.”
The Braves were more effective in keeping the lead in the second half. They went back and forth with the Chieftains, but eventually looked to walk away with the game as sophomore Boone Havens converted a pair of free throws into a 3-point advantage, 45–42, with 16 seconds left.
PC inbounded the ball and got it just past half court before Uppena called a timeout with 4.5 seconds knocked off the clock. The Chieftains took time passing the ball around the perimeter, before Drew Richardson kicked a pass to Aaron Edge while feigning a drive to the hoop.
Despite having Logan Kress in his face and being at least a couple feet outside the 3-point line, PC was out of options with 2.5 seconds left. Edge cocked his arm for a shot, and the ball cleared the rim just before the buzzer, tying the game at 45–45
Edge converted an and-one opportunity at the line to open overtime scoring at with 3:09 on the clock.
Kress trimmed the deficit to two points, going 1-for-2 at the charity stripe, before a Freeman layup under duress put a 48–48 tie on the scoreboard about a minute later. PC junior Ben Infield later earned a lone point at the charity stripe with a minute to play, putting the lead in the Chieftains’ hands once more at 49–48.
But Belmont had an ace up its sleeve — Freeman. The sophomore tossed up a hook shot that bounced off the rim, but in the scuffle for the rebound, the ball ended back up in 42’s hands. Freeman didn’t squander the second chance, putting the ball back up to the hoop while drawing a foul. His basket flipped the lead one final time with 28.2 seconds on the clock and he converted the ensuing free throw to make it 51–49.
With one last chance to even the score, a deep 3-point attempt by Richardson came up short as the buzzer sounded, ending the game and the regular season.
“We had some opportunities,” said PC head coach Mike Uppena. “We gave up a couple of rebounds, we turned the ball over a couple of times down the stretch, we missed a couple bunnies and missed a couple of free throws. We had a few miscues, and things just didn’t go our way.”
“In big games against tough opponents, you can’t do those things down the stretch. They’re too hard to overcome. I thought our guys just played their tails off defensively though. These guys showed what grit and determination they have, and put themselves in a situation to win the game.”
“We did not shoot the three very well, and that is uncharacteristic of our team,” saod Buchs. “However, PC did a great job defensively. Our guards did a nice job feeding the post and Thomas Freeman was able to step up and lead us in scoring. We did find out we can win a game without shooting great. We found a way and I think that is a confidence builder going into the tournament.”
Freeman led or co-led most stat categories for the Braves, including points (25), rebounds (8), and assists (4). Fellow sophomore Wyatt Temperly almost made his way into double figures with nine points on the night while tying Freeman’s assist total.
Senior Alex Friederick had 14 points, seven rebounds and three steals to lead the Chieftains, while Edge added 13 points and Richardson chipped in 12 points.
Belmont (22–2) opened the WIAA Division 4 regional playoffs Tuesday with a win over No. 13 seed Highland (4–21). With a win, the Braves will host either No. 5 River Ridge (19–6) in a regional semifinal Friday night. Friday night’s winner would advance to Saturday’s regional final, most likely at No. 1 seed North Crawford (20–4).
Coach Uppena’s Chieftains (17–8, 14–3 SRW) earned the No. 7 seed and beat No. 10 Boscobel (8–15) in Tuesday’s opening round. PC advances to face No. 2 Kickapoo (23–2) in a regional semifinal Friday night. Friday’s winner would advance to Saturday’s regional finals.
#6 Belmont 51, Potosi/Cassville 49 (OT)
(from Thursday, Feb. 26 @ Belmont)
Potosi/Cassville....22 23 4 — 49
Belmont..................24 21 6 — 51
Potosi/Cassville (16–8, 14–3) — Ben Infield 5, Sam Infield 3, Aaron Edge 13, Drew Richardson 12, Kolton Vogelsberg 2, Alex Friederick 14. Totals — 16-50 9-12 49.
Belmont (21–2, 15–2) — Wyatt Temperly 9, Griffin McNett 2, Boone Havnes 6, Logan Kress 1, Chase Riechers 8, Thomas Freeman 25. Totals —19-47 12-13 51.
3-pointers — PC: 8-25 (Edge 1, Richardson 3, Friederick 4); B: 1-13 (Temperly 1). Team Fouls — PC: 18, B: 13. Fouled out — none.
