Fremont goes a-'foul' — Oly topples No. 1 team

PLAIN CITY — Fremont is No. 1 no more.

In a game the referees played a huge roll by whistling 47 total fouls, Olympus took advantage of its 36 trips to the foul line to upset the top-ranked team in the state, 58-54.

"It's a great win," said Olympus coach Matt Barnes, whose team improved to 5-0 with the win. "Beating the best team in the state on their home floor is a big deal, but we didn't win pretty."

Thirty-four percent shooting might not be pretty, but Olympus' defense was.

By stymieing Fremont's usually fluid offense in the first quarter, the Titans took control early, and led virtually the entire game. In fact, after going ahead in the first quarter, Olympus trailed only once at 47-46 with 3:02 remaining in the game.

Fremont's lone second-half lead lasted exactly one possession.

After Derrick Knighton's lay-up put Fremont ahead 47-46, leading scorer Ryan Sanchez was called for a ticky-tack foul while trapping Oly's Crosby Styles.

The foul was his fifth, and Sanchez was forced to the bench to join starting point guard Austin Beus, who fouled out two possessions earlier. The end of the bench wouldn't stay lonely for long. By the end of the game, fellow Fremont starters Joel Hancock and Trevor Higley also fouled out.

"I think we'll be a better team because of this game," said Fremont coach Bernie Graziano. "We need to learn how to battle adversity."

In many respects, the Silver Wolves battled adversity just fine Friday.

With two starters on the bench, Fremont only trailed 52-49 with 1:24 remaining, and Knighton heading to the line for a one-and-one. Even though he missed the front end, Fremont regained possession seconds later following Olympus' 11th turnover of the game.

On that possession, Higley's game-tying 3-point attempt rattled out, and Olympus managed to hang on during the final minute despite making only 4-of-8 free throws in the final minute.

"Give Fremont credit, we had them down 10 at one point, but good teams will always come back at you," said Barnes.

While Fremont's starters were dropping like flies, the underlying story of the game was that Olympus star Shaun Green didn't.

The University of Utah signee wasn't immune to the whistle-happy refs either, picking up his fourth foul with 40 seconds left in the third quarter. Barnes sat Green briefly, but watching his offense struggle without him, the Oly coach had no choice but to risk the foul out, and bring Green back with seven minutes remaining.

He stayed foul free and finished with a game-high 30 points. Sanchez led Fremont with 14 points, while Austin Raught added 12.

---

E-mail: jedward@desnews.com