Boys basketball: Fremont runs away from Weber, inches closer to Region 1 title
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- Fremont’s Braden Flinders, left, fights past Weber’s Hunter Schenck, right, on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, in Pleasant View.
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- Weber’s Hunter Schenck (3) drives against contact from Fremont’s Boston Hadley (5) on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, in Pleasant View.
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- Fremont’s Boston Hadley drives the ball against Weber on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, in Pleasant View.
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- Weber’s Jaxon Shaw (42) makes a move against Fremont’s David Calvert on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, in Pleasant View.
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- Fremont’s Braden Flinders, left, tries to fight off Weber’s Hunter Schenck, right, on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, in Pleasant View.
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- Fremont’s Christian Blanch looks to pass the ball against Weber on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, in Pleasant View.
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- Fremont guard Treyden Hoggan passes against Weber on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, in Pleasant View.
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- Weber’s Hunter Schenck, right, drives against Fremont’s Braden Flinders (3) on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, in Pleasant View.
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- Weber’s Hunter Schenck (3) drives against Fremont’s Easton Duft on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, in Pleasant View.
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- Weber’s Griffyn Doughty (4) and Fremont’s Hunter Hansen battle for a loose ball on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, in Pleasant View.
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- Weber’s Hunter Schenck shoots against Fremont on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, in Pleasant View.
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- Weber’s Jaxon Shaw, right, tries to secure the ball as Fremont’s Boston Hadley defends on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, in Pleasant View.
PLEASANT VIEW — The message to Fremont’s boys basketball team after its first region loss of the season last week was to put things into perspective.
The Silverwolves were still 1 1/2 games ahead of Layton for first place with four games left. They were still in a great position. Going unbeaten in Region 1 is difficult.
“I think that we’re all human and we’re all going to lose sometimes. Just gotta bounce back and play better the next game,” Fremont senior David Calvert said matter-of-factly on Tuesday.
The response on the road against rival Weber — who, in sixth place, is looking for something to celebrate this season — was befitting of a team that’s separating itself from the rest of the region.
It’s a hard ask of any team any year to be on the doorstep of the Region 1 title with three games left in the regular season, but that’s where the Silverwolves stand after turning a trap game into a runaway, 71-54 win against the Warriors.
Leading 22-20 late in the second quarter, the Silverwolves (13-6, 8-1 Region 1) closed the first half on a 10-0 run to lead 32-20, punctuated by Easton Duft’s 3-pointer with 1.8 seconds left.
The locker room didn’t change the trend for either team, as Fremont’s Braden Flinders made two buckets in the first minute of the third quarter to get the lead to 16 and force a Weber timeout.
Flinders scored 13 points, all after the first quarter, and Fremont shot 13 for 14 at the foul line as a team.
Fremont’s lead got as high as 20 points in the third before the Warriors mustered a response.
“I feel like everything starts with defense, so we just tightened it all up on defense, trying to make their key players make tough buckets and keep them all down,” Calvert said. “I feel like we just played really well and made open shots.”
Calvert scored 14 points before fouling out with 2 minutes left in the game and Fremont up by 18.
Hunter Hansen, who was serenaded with “Happy Birthday” by the Fremont students, scored 17 points one game after struggling to get 10 against Layton.
“I think we executed well,” he said. “The coaches called great plays and we got good looks, we were just hitting the open guy and everyone was cheering for each other and knocking down shots.”
Hansen’s still getting back into form after a knee injury earlier this season. The knee is getting better and he played mostly well despite also being ill; he spent considerable time puking after Tuesday’s game.
“I’ve kind of been struggling getting back, but just playing better every game and then the team’s been playing really well,” Hansen said.
Fremont goes to Clearfield on Friday for what will be its fifth road game out of six overall, then the team will return home for the final two of the regular season. They can clinch at least a share of the region title with a win Friday.
Weber is in a different spot, entering Tuesday at No. 20 in the RPI. That would send the Warriors on the road in the first round of the playoffs.
The 10-0 run in the second quarter started with a fastbreak 3 by Calvert, then a reverse layup by Calvert, a tough runner off the glass by Boston Hadley and Duft’s late 3.
After scoring four, 16 and zero points his last three games, Hadley had eight points, all of it in traffic. Duft, who had seven points the last four games combined, scored 10.
“We wanted to give Easton another shot. He didn’t have his best game last time, he came in early, first guy in Saturday morning, and it showed,” Fremont coach Corey Melaney said. “And Boston Hadley was huge for us, especially in that second quarter.”
The Silverwolves were the better team Tuesday, and also benefited from friendly bounces at the rim and unfriendly bounces for the Warriors.
Leading 36-22 early in the third, Flinders tried to lob a pass from the top of the key to Calvert on baseline near the backboard, but the pass was errant, hit the backboard and fell right to Christian Blanch for an easy layup.
Weber (6-13, 3-7) missed a fair share of shots within a few feet of the rim, as well as a fair share of open shots that clanked the inside of the rim, or rimmed out. The Warriors shot 18 for 25 at the foul line.
Hunter Schenck scored 16 of his game-high 21 points in the second half but struggled to create open shots as Fremont honed in on him almost exclusively.
Connect with reporter Patrick Carr via email at pcarr@standard.net, Twitter @patrickcarr_ and Instagram @standardexaminersports.