Freeland boys hold off Swan Valley in double OT thriller for 57-52 TVC East victory

 

The Freeland boys basketball team will head into the Christmas break with a 57-52 double overtime victory over Swan Valley following a classic battle between the two Tri Valley Conference East rivals from inside 'the Falcon's Nest' on the campus of Freeland High School Friday night. 

 

Freeland junior Breyden Vasold and Swan Valley junior Max Dawson each hit a pair of early three's for their respective teams, as Freeland sophomore Bryson Huckeby added a free throw and a basket from the floor, while FHS senior Jack Dreyer chipped in with 2-points in the opening 8-minutes to pace the Falcons to an 11-8 first quarter lead. 

 

Fourteen year old freshman point guard Braylen Himmelein was impressive in the opening half, pacing the Swan Valley offense with 4-first half points, adding 4-assists, 3-rebounds, and 2-steals in the first sixteen minutes. 

 

Three different seniors would help keep the Vikings close in the second quarter with Callen Reaume hitting a three and Ethan Champney scoring from the floor, while SVHS big man Easton Goldensoph pulled down 7-first half rebounds, but Vasold continued with a hot hand for the Falcons, scoring 5-second quarter points with his third three of the half, while Freeland sophomore Josh Elliott chipped in five points to give the Falcons a 25-19 lead heading into halftime. 

 

Freeland started to pull away coming out of halftime led by Vasold's 5-third quarter points, hitting his fourth three of the game, while Huckeby dropped another 4-points in the third to give the Falcons a 36-28 lead after three quarters of play.

 

The Falcons lead had grown to as much as 14-points in the early part of the fourth quarter when Vasold hit his fifth three of the game, but Champney and Dawson started attacking the hoop, scoring 4-points apiece respectively to get the Vikings to within striking distance, before Swan Valley junior guard Avery Goldensoph (younger brother of Easton) hit four clutch free throws down the stretch, the last two coming with 17.5 seconds left in regulation to tie the game (44-44) and force overtime. 

 

Champney scored another 4-points in overtime for Swan Valley, while FHS sophomore Alex Duley and Eliott each  hit a pair of free throws as the two teams finished the first overtime still tied at 48-points apiece, before Freeland pulled away late in the second overtime with Huckeby scoring from the floor while Vasold ran the length of the floor to catch a baseball pass, finishing with a layup, eventually adding a clutch free throw to secure the 57-52 win. 

 

Vasold led all scorers with 22-points, including 5 three's to pace Freeland, followed by Elliott, who finished with 11-points, 1-assist, 2-rebounds, 1-steal, and 1-block, while Huckeby added 9-points, 3-assists, 8-rebounds, and 2-steals for the Falcons. 

 

Freeland senior Tyler McLaren added 5-points, while Duley was a beast on the boards for the Falcons, finishing with 4-points, 1-assist, 10-rebounds, 1-steal, and 1-block, along with 2-points and 2-rebounds from Freeland junior Jackson LaFond. 

 

Dawson hit 3-three's to lead the Vikings, finishing with 17-points, 2-assists, and 6-rebounds, followed by Champney with 14-points, 2-assists, 8-rebounds, and 2-steals; while Himmelein added 6-points, 4-assists, 4-rebounds, and 2-steals for Swan Valley. 

 

Easton Goldensoph put in an impressive night's work down low for the Vikings, finishing with 2-points, 1-assist, 10-rebounds, and 4-blocks, while brother Avery added 4-points, 1-assist, 5-rebounds, and 3-steals, while SVHS junior Hunter Williams chipped in with 4-points, along with Reaume's 3-points and an additional 2-points from senior Noah Christiansen to round out the Swan Valley scoring.

 

 Freeland is off until after the Christmas Break when the Falcons head west on M-46 for a TVC East road matchup against Alma HS on Friday Jan 3, 2020, while Swan Valley looks to get back on track when the Vikings welcome Davison HS for a 7 pm home game at Swan Valley High School on Friday Jan. 3, as well.