Region VI men: Hutchinson upsets No. 8 Butler in semifinals

DeShawn Freeman is a 6-foot-7 forward for Hutchinson Community College who does the things expected of a 6-foot-7 forward, namely scoring in the paint, blocking shots and rebounding.

There’s more to Freeman’s game, though, that belies that stereotypes of his height, and he may have overshadowed them on Friday night with one of those predictable traits.

Freeman took a slightly unexpected pass from Bashier Ahmed and drove the baseline, scoring with one second to play against Butler and sending the Blue Dragons to a 77-75 win in the Region VI semifinals at Koch Arena.

Hutchinson beat Butler for the first time in three tries and became the NJCAA all-time leader with 1,681 wins, one more than Southeastern (Iowa) Community College.

The Blue Dragons play Dodge City in Saturday’s championship. The winner earns a bid in the NJCAA tournament this month in Hutchinson – while No. 8 Butler hopes for one of four at-large tournament bids.

“We want to get the ball in DeShawn’s hands, he can do some things,” Hutchinson coach Steve Eck said.

Freeman’s game-winning basket was the headliner to a well-rounded performance, especially in the final minutes as Butler rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit.

During the final eight minutes, Freeman blocked a shot by a Butler guard courageous enough to challenge him in the paint, he scored on a drive to the basket after getting the ball at the top of the key, and he wisely passed out of a double team to an open Zach Winter, who made a three-pointer.

Freeman is Hutchinson’s second-leading scorer, and he scored 37 points in Thursday’s quarterfinals against Coffeyville. But he doesn’t earn as much attention for his passing – he’s totaled 16 assists in his last five games – his ball-handling, or his footwork.

“Most of the teams, they kind of know my game, so I try to switch it out instead of scoring,” Freeman said. “I kind of look for open players or switch it up a little bit – instead of going baseline to baseline, try to go out and block a shot. We needed that block.”

Butler trailed 61-50 with just over 11 minutes to play, but the Grizzlies slowly chipped away, with Hutchinson often answering before Butler could make significant scoring runs.

The Grizzlies had one basket in the final 3:06, but it was pivotal, as Chris Howell tied it 75-75 with a driving layup with 17 seconds to go. Howell led Butler with 20 points and 15 rebounds off the bench while the Grizzlies endured foul trouble for most of the first half.

Howell nearly won it with a 60-foot heave at the buzzer that bounced off the backboard before rattling off the rim. He led Butler from an energy standpoint in the second half, as players such as Lamar Wofford and Jacolby Harris followed his lead to get the Grizzlies back in the game.

“I thought Chris really did put us on his back for two games,” said Butler coach Mike Bargen a night after Howell had 24 points and 14 rebounds in the quarterfinals. “…With everything else he did for us tonight, it almost felt like (the final shot) deserved to go in.”

Howell’s didn’t, but Freeman’s did. Hutchinson didn’t use a timeout following Howell’s basket, and Bashier Ahmed dribbled in the backcourt for most of the remaining time. The defense collapsed as he began to drive and he found Freeman, who was already beginning his surge toward the basket when he caught the ball.

“DeShawn,” Bashier said, “is basically like the leader.”

This story was originally published March 6, 2015 at 10:37 PM with the headline "Region VI men: Hutchinson upsets No. 8 Butler in semifinals."