Free State boys turn it on to eliminate Derby

When Derby’s boys were at their best this season, the pace got a little frantic.

Hustling defenders jumped in passing lanes and others scooped up loose balls to provide the spark for a transition offense.

It was all on display Friday toward the end of the first half Class 6A sub-state final against Free State. With Nyjee Wright and Trevor Gordon scoring the points, and starters and substitutes creating the havoc, Derby shook off a slow start to take a two-point halftime lead.

It didn’t last.

Free State, motivated by an overtime loss that stopped its 2015-16 season one step short of state, quickly recovered with 44 second-half points and defeated Derby 68-59 to advance to next week’s 6A tournament.

Cameron Clark, a 6-foot-7 center, scored 26 points and 18 rebounds and guard Garrett Luinstra added 19 points for Free State, which will take a 16-6 record to Wichita State’s Koch Arena.

“For us to do what we were doing takes such unbelievable effort that it’s hard to sustain,” Derby coach Brett Flory said. “They can do what they do with a little less effort than when we’re doing what we do.

“To their credit, they made good halftime adjustments to what we were doing.”

Wright, Derby’s clutch-shooting senior, scored 28 points and Gordon had 19. But the Panthers, who finished 17-5, faced an uphill battle most of the game after making three of their first 15 shots.

Derby found a temporary solution near the end of the first half. Forcing seven second-quarter turnovers, the Panthers closed the half with a 16-5 run for a 26-24 lead.

“We were getting sped up,” Luinstra said. “We just had to slow down and do what we do.

“We attacked more and got more stops on the defensive end.”

Derby scored five straight points for a 31-28 lead early in the third quarter. But Simon McCaffrey answered with a three-pointer, Jay Dineen scored off a steal and Luinstra added a three-point play and a long-range three on an inbounds play to put Free State ahead for good at 39-31.

“We always make it interesting,” Free State coach Sam Stroh said. “That’s kind of who we are. But I liked the way we responded out of halftime.”

Free State added a steady dose of Clark throughout the game. He had 12 points at the break and 10 in the fourth quarter, making 12 of 17 shots.

Clark scored six points in a 43-second span of the final quarter, including a lob dunk from Luinstra, to put Free State up 50-36 with 6:31 to play.

“They have some very talented guys,” Flory said. “There’s a reason why big people are good at basketball. They can play over the top and they did a really good job of that.”

Free State made 17 of 26 second-half shots and 16 of 19 free throws for the game. Derby, which got all of its points from its starters, shot 39 percent.

“We’re a maximum-effort team, and at the end of the day, they were just a little bit too big and too strong,” Flory said.

This story was originally published March 3, 2017 at 9:46 PM with the headline "Free State boys turn it on to eliminate Derby."