Gaylord, MI - The Freeland Falcons second-half comeback effort fell short losing by two points to the Kingsford Flivvers 48-46 in the state quarterfinal at Gaylord High School.
The Falcons trailed by six at the end of the third quarter. Freeland junior Wilson Huckeby led the comeback effort. After an even first half of the final quarter, Huckeby cashed two threes on back-to-back possessions, to pull the deficit to one with just under three minutes.
Kingsford as they did all night, had the response with a Jett Buckley layup, a left-lane drive, and a finish. On Freeland's next possession, they were fouled twice and got an offensive rebound, but the near-minute long attack ended with the Flivvers clogging the paint, forcing a miss and grabbing a rebound.
The Flivvers after a timeout put the ball in senior Gavin Grondin's hands. Grondin, who finished with a game-high 21, was blocked by Freeland junior Zander Wheatley.
With 35 seconds left, Huckeby took the loose ball to the other end and attempted to split a double-team through the left lane. He was stripped of the ball, and a whistle came, but it was ruled he traveled before it was jarred out.
Buckley for Kingsford hit another layup and Freeland's next look was a missed three boarded by the Flivvers with 10.5 seconds. The Falcons fouled twice to bring Grondin to the foul line. He split the pair to make it a six-point lead. Huckeby sped into the frontcourt and nailed a three a step from the center-court logo with 1.3 to go.
After a timeout, Jett Buckley got an inbound pass and was fouled with 0.7 seconds. The sophomore Buckley hit both to bring the advantage to five. Huckeby's half-court heave as time expired went, to make it a two-point loss. He accounted for his team's final 12 points.
The fourth was the only quarter the Falcons outscored the Flivvers. Kingsford led by nine at the half, with two double-digit scorers Grondin and junior Owen Olkkonen. Junior big man Tristan Comer helped keep Freeland in it, with eight in the first half. He finished with 10.
Tonight's full game archive is available here.
Rounding Things Out
The Falcons' complete roster, 11 juniors, one sophomore, and one freshman will all return next season.
Up Next
Our next high school broadcast is tonight Wednesday, March 12th. In the girl's basketball regional final round, Sanford Meridian plays Roscommon at Beal City. Our coverage starts at 6:50 pm.
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