On Friday night at 8 p.m. in the BYU-Idaho Center, the Freeze clashed against Bruins in the quarter-finals tournament.
The game began with the freeze setting the tone early. Point guard Elliot McAllister scored three straight baskets to open the game and the Freeze offense kept the fast-paced basketball going.
The Bruins were forced to take a timeout after the Freeze took the lead 23-13. The Bruins came back from the timeout and got the ball down low to center Zach Stoner much more consistently, which in turn helped reduce the lead. The quarter ended with the Freeze up 30-25.
In the second quarter, the Freeze started off aggressive and physical, the offense started kicking the ball out to the corner where shooting guard Parker Hoyt proceeded to shoot several 3-pointers.
The Bruin’s defense was consistently drawn into the paint before the ball was swung out into either corner, and this repeated for several possessions.
The Freeze eventually forced a timeout, after building a sizeable 60-44 lead. The halftime buzzer sounded just after a half-court buzzer-beater attempt from the bruins clanged off the rim, Freeze led 64-45 at the half.
In the third quarter, the Bruins began to mount a comeback, taking a lot more risks on offense. The Freeze defense was in foul trouble which proved costly as the Bruins converted most of their free throws and slowly dwindled the lead to 82-74 at the end of the third quarter.
“Man, I did not think the Bruins had that in them,” said Cannon Combs, a spectator. “I thought the Freeze were just gonna build the lead more and kill the game.”
The fourth quarter proved to be an all-out battle for the win.
The score was 97-95 when the Bruins took a timeout. The Bruins were forced to foul in order to save some of the clocks, as the Freeze attempted to waste time.
Some of the free throws were not converted and the Bruins made it a 1-point game, down 106-105. The teams’ efforts proved not to be enough, as the Freeze Center Jed Baldwin converted two free throws with 4 seconds left.
The Bruins inbounded the ball and attempted a last-second half-court shot, which hit the backboard and ended the game. The Freeze advanced to the semifinals, winning this game 108-105.
“Got to hand it to the Bruins,” said Joseph Dougherty. “They made it closer than we would have liked. We got lucky that last shot did not go in and that our offense earlier was playing well enough to give us the lead that we had. Big game tomorrow so hopefully we fix some of these mistakes and come out on top.”
For information on the upcoming championship games and for any other sports scheduling questions, visit the Campus Recreation website here.