6A basketball playoffs: Hansen, Fremont boys put away Copper Hills with decisive 2nd-half
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- Fremont’s Hunter Hansen (2) drives against Copper Hills in a 6A second-round playoff game Friday, Feb. 24, 2023, in Plain City.
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- Fremont forward David Calvert, right, goes up to shoot against Copper Hills’ Ashtyn Howick (0) in a 6A second-round playoff game Friday, Feb. 24, 2023, in Plain City.
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- Fremont’s Treyden Hoggan (11) dribbles past a Copper Hills player in a 6A second-round playoff game Friday, Feb. 24, 2023, in Plain City.
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- Fremont High students gesture during a 6A second-round boys basketball playoff game against Copper Hills on Friday, Feb. 24, 2023, in Plain City.
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- Fremont’s Braden Flinders gestures as he dribbles during a 6A second-round playoff game against Copper Hills on Friday, Feb. 24, 2023, in Plain City.
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- Copper Hills player Kyson Hymas (35) dribbles against Fremont’s Braden Flinders, rear, and Christian Blanch (24) in a 6A second-round playoff game Friday, Feb. 24, 2023, in Plain City.
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- Fremont’s David Calvert passes during a 6A second-round playoff game against Copper Hills on Friday, Feb. 24, 2023, in Plain City.
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- Fremont’s Hunter Hansen, right, drives against a Copper Hills player in a 6A second-round playoff game Friday, Feb. 24, 2023, in Plain City.
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- Fremont’s Braden Flinders (3) makes a move against Copper Hills in a 6A second-round playoff game Friday, Feb. 24, 2023, in Plain City.
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- Fremont’s David Calvert rises to shoot in a 6A second-round playoff game against Copper Hills on Friday, Feb. 24, 2023, in Plain City.
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- Fremont guard Easton Duft (1) handles the basketball in a 6A second-round playoff game against Copper Hills on Friday, Feb. 24, 2023, in Plain City.
PLAIN CITY — Fremont High junior guard Hunter Hansen was somewhat subdued and didn’t have much to say in the Silverwolves’ locker room following their 61-44 victory over No. 11 Copper Hills in the second round of the 6A state boys basketball playoffs Friday night.
On the court, Hansen let his game do the talking, blistering the nets for 29 points on 12-of-13 shooting from the field. Hansen buried a trio of 3-pointers, made both of his free throw attempts and completed a double-double with 10 rebounds.
The No. 6 Silverwolves broke out of a 26-26 halftime tie with a 35-18, second-half burst — including a 21-point third quarter — and advanced to the quarterfinals of the tournament at the Dee Events Center. There, they’ll face No. 3 American Fork at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 28.
“Our coach was just super positive, telling us that we’re alright, that we’re better than this, and he knows it so we can just get going,” Hansen said.
But somewhere a switch was flipped as Hansen, who scored 10 points in the first half, then matched that total with 10 in the third quarter.
He did not have a 3-point attempt in the first half, then made two by the 4:37 mark of the third period.
Fremont (16-7) had gone on a 13-6 run to open the third quarter and led 39-32 when Hansen’s second trey nestled the net.
“I was kind of taking what they gave me; they started sagging off me a little in the second half. They left me open for a 3 and I can knock that down,” Hansen said. “I just kept attacking them and getting to my spots.”
The margin grew to 47-37 after three quarters as a Hansen layup just beat the buzzer.
The Siverwolves held the Grizzlies (11-12) to seven points in the fourth quarter to quash any hopes they had of a comeback.
“We really buckled down; we ran a 1-3-1 and haven’t done that a lot this year,” Hansen said. “We’ve been working on that in practice and coach thought it was going to be good for us, and it was.”
David Calvert opened the game with a layup, then stepped out beyond the arc for a 3 in the first quarter and finished the game with nine points for Fremont. He turned his focus to defense with an undetermined number of blocks and intimidations, plus six rebounds.
Senior guard Boston Hadley came off the bench and put threes up across the board, with a trio of field goals, including a 3-pointer and 3 of 3 from the free-throw line. He checked in with 10 points for the Silverwolves.
Braden Flinders scored eight points (4 of 4 from the charity stripe) and Fremont converted 11 of 11 from the line for the game.
Fremont had a bye in the first round of the playoffs and was a little rusty in the first quarter, trailing 15-11, but got back to even at the half with a 15-11 quarter of its own.
“There was a little bit of nerves but we’re a pretty experienced team and were just super excited to get out there,” Hansen said. “It was nice to have a bye and let our legs recover and go over their stuff a little bit.”