FREDERICKTOWN — Everyone was seeing red in the Fredericktown gym on Friday night.
Not only were both teams sporting red uniforms, one word seemed to be the theme: physicality.
Fredericktown and Utica engaged in a physical boys basketball game that resulted in a 66-49 Freddies win. But as the old cliche goes, the game was much closer than the final score indicated.
The win pushed Fredericktown’s record to 21-0, while Utica dropped to 10-12.
“I don’t think we were surprised at all. They are well coached, and they are a tough group of kids,” Fredericktown coach Derek Dibling said. “They play a tough schedule, so I think they are pretty battle-tested.
“Honestly I’m not surprised at how physical they were. I think it is kind of what we expected.”
Defense seals the game
Fredericktown edged in front 14-12 through the first quarter, but Utica guard Hunter McKinney pulled his team within 29-28 with his sharpshooting prowess.
The teams traded baskets, and by the end of the third period, Fredericktown was on top 46-40. In the final stanza, the Freddies continued to build their lead.
With 4:45 remaining, senior Gavin Toombs snatched a rebound and laid the ball through the hoop to put his team up 55-45. Junior Zane Luckmeier knocked down two free throws with 3:38 remaining to give the Freddies a 58-47 bulge.
Fredericktown’s defense put it away, with three steals in the final minutes.
“It was brutal at times. I think that it was just a tough game to officiate. It was back-and-forth and physical, and some strange things just happened,” Dibling said.
The rough nature of the game emphasized free-throw shooting.
“Coach Dibling has us shooting a lot more in practice,” Toombs said. “I feel like that was a big part of my game that improved. Just taking time, taking deep breaths, calming down, just getting my form right and getting my legs bent.”
Brian Sipes and Luckmeier each pumped in 20 points to pace the Freddies, with Toombs contributing 17.
McKinney led all scorers with 25 points for the Redskins, while Kamden Hall added 11.
On tap
Next up for Fredericktown is the regular-season finale at home with Mount Gilead on Feb. 24.
“At this point, we just want to keep ramping it up, keep building the momentum that we have and just carry that into the post-season,” Dibling said.
The coach said that his team leaders need to play a consistent role in the home stretch.
“At this point, we rely heavily on our leaders. We’ve got three, four or five guys that just do a great job collectively, just building to the postseason,” he said.
Fredericktown will receive its hardware for winning the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference outright at the Mount Gilead game.
The Freddies open postseason play on Feb. 28, hosting the Marion Pleasant Spartans.
