A close game quickly turned into lopsided contest Thursday night at Wachs Arena.

Viborg-Hurley turn a four-point lead into a 24-point cushion in less than eight minutes on the way to a 72-44 win over Freeman during the opening round of the Class B State Boys’ Basketball Tournament.

The Cougars were clinging to a 38-34 edge with five minutes left in the third quarter before going on a 22-2 surge to open a 60-36 advantage with 6:11 remaining in the contest.

“The halftime speech was amazing by our coach (Shane Warwick),” said Brady Schroedermeier, “and we were already fired up, and we came out and we gave it to them.”

Schroedermeier played a key role in the offensive explosion with nine points during that run. The junior consistently drove to the basket for high-percentage shots.

“That’s really my game,” Schroedermeier said. “I like to take it to the hoop first and then shoot it after.”

With his ability to get to the rim, it gave the Cougars the spark they needed to pull away.

“We ran some stuff and he made some good plays,” Warwick said. “He’s hard to guard off the dribble, too. When he shoots it and puts that both together, he’s a hard guard.”

Freeman, which defeated Viborg-Hurley earlier in the season, knew about Schroedermeier’s ability to drive to the basket, but had a tough time defending it.

“He’s hard to guard there,” said Freeman coach Lance Friesen. “We knew that play was coming, but we weren’t able to get there and make him kick it out.”

Early in the game Schroedermeier did kick it out and teammate Owen Niederbaumer responded with three 3-pointers to get the Viborg-Hurley offense going.

However, the Flyers were able to hang around and trailed by just five points at the half after back-to-back 3-pointers to close out the half.

Then came the disastrous third-quarter.

“It was a snow ball, avalanche, whatever you want to call it, ran into a buzz-saw, that type of deal,” Friesen said, “but we also didn’t help matters by the things we can control.”

Friesen pointed to his team’s numerous turnovers and shot selection during the pivotal Viborg-Hurley run.

“You can’t play with anyone that good if you can’t rebound or take care of the ball,” Friesen said.

Freeman’s offense, which went stride-for-stride with the Cougars, began to dry up as Viborg-Hurley pulled away.

“I think the problem was we didn’t really play as a team,” said Freeman’s Tate Sorensen. “People started getting a little flustered, a little nervous.”

Viborg-Hurley shot 47 percent from the field in the second half and received points from six different players.

“When the ball goes in, everybody looks good,” Warwick said.

Freshman David Walter led the Flyers with 15 points. Sorensen added nine points.

Freeman, 19-5, will face Aberdeen Christian at 1:45 this afternoon in consolation action.

“They play good basketball,” Friesen said. “They’re athletic, they’re long, balanced.”

The Flyers will try to forget about Thursday’s contest and finish off the tournament strong.

“You got to flush it, what happened tonight, you got to forget about it,” Sorensen said. “I told that to the team when we were breaking it down in the locker room. I said you just got to get over it. It’s in the past. You can’t control the past, so let’s go get that consolation championship.”

Viborg-Hurley, 22-2 on the season, takes on Dell Rapids St. Mary in the semifinals at 7:45 tonight. The Cardinals feature a dynamic duo of Trevor Beckman and Maverick LeBrun.

“We’re going to have to guard Trevor Beckman. He’s a good player,” Schroedermeier said. “Maverick’s good, too,”

Warwick knows the Cardinals will present a major challenge.

“I’ve said it all year. They’re no doubt one of the best, if not the best, team in South Dakota,” Warwick said. “They’ve got some elite players and scorers.”

FREEMAN (19-5): Sawyer Wipf 1 0-0 2, Tayden Kerrigan 2 0-0 4, Luke Peters 2 0-0 5, David Walter 5 3-4 15, Trey Maske 1 2-2 4, Luke Miller 2 0-0 5, Tate Sorensen 4 0-0 9. Totals 17-42 5-8 44.

VIBORG-HURLEY (22-2): Jake Austin 2 4-4 8, Brady Schroedermeier 9 2-4 21, Owen Niederbaumer 7 2-2 20, Nicholas Hanson 4 0-0 9, Rafe Goettertz 1 0-0 3, Braydyn Morrison 1 0-0 3, Nolan Kolthoff 3 2-2 8. Totals 27-57 10-12 72.

Freeman 12 28 36 44

Viborg-Hurley 19 33 53 72

3-point field goals – Peters, Walter 2, Miller, Sorensen; Schroedermeier, Niederbaumer 4, Hanson, Goettertz, Morrison. Total fouls – Freeman 11; Viborg-Hurley 12. Rebounds – Freeman 27 (Kerrigan 4, Peters 4, Sorensen 4); Viborg-Hurley 30 (Kolthoff 7). Turnovers – Freeman 22; Viborg-Hurley 10. Blocked shots – Freeman 3 (Sorensen 2); Viborg-Hurley 3. Steals – Freeman 5 (Wipf 2, Walter 2); Viborg-Hurley 9 (Niederbaumer 2, Goettertz 2).