Castlewood’s offense not only produced points on Friday, it also helped to eliminate them.

Playing a patient but productive style, the Warriors defeated Freeman Academy-Marion 64-48 in consolation round action during the State B Boys’ Basketball Tournament at Wachs Arena.

Castlewood worked for open shots, often hit them and prevented the Bearcats from getting out in transition en route to the win.

“We just had a great day today,” said Castlewood coach Mike Thyen. “We shot the ball well. We executed some plays.”

As a result, the Warriors built a double-digit lead as they shot 48 percent from the field and 53 percent from three-point range.

“They played great. They shot an incredibly high percentage again tonight. They did that (Thursday) night as well,” said Freeman Academy-Marion coach Austin Unruh. “They’re on a great run right now. We ran into a buzz saw a little bit there. They were fantastic on both sides of the floor.”

It was Tristan Neilsen who got the Warriors going early with seven first-quarter points. Reserve Joe Decker helped Castlewood maintain the advantage with five second-quarter points. Levi Twedt then finished off the job with eight fourth-quarter points.

“All our guys played some nice roles today and all had contributions,” Thyen said.

Because the Warriors were willing to work through their offense and take their time, it meant less possessions for the Bearcats and less opportunities to cut into the Castlewood lead.

“I thought that for the most part we did a decent job of executing our game plan, we just didn’t do some of the little things well,” Unruh said. “We didn’t finish possessions on defense, too many late shots in the shot clock, because they did a great job of running it down, bleeding the game. They knew that we were a high-scoring team, so they slowed it down. They did a great job with that.”

As a result, Freeman Academy-Marion was held well below its season average of 69 points per game.

“Our defense all year has been really tough, slowing teams down,” Neilsen said. “We just held them to 48. They’re a good team, but our defense has stepped up a lot this year.”

Connor Epp topped the Bearcats with 17 points, while Quincy Blue followed with 11 and Thalen Schroeder added 10.

Freeman Academy-Marion (21-4) will play Aberdeen Christian for seventh place at noon today.

Nielsen led a balanced scoring attack for Castlewood with 15 points. Tvedt had 11, Decker 10, Jackson Schofield eight and Booker Schooley seven.

The Warriors (18-7) take on Waubay-Summit for fifth place at 1:45 this afternoon.

“That’s a big opportunity for us. We’re just going to try to focus on that,” Thyen said. “That trophy is a big trophy, that consolation championship, so we want to go after that and go out with a bang.”

No matter what happens, the Warriors are definitely enjoying their state tournament experience.

“First time here, the atmosphere is crazy. It is so much fun,” Nielsen said. “Coming from a small town, small gym and then coming here, everybody is loud. You hit a three, it’s going crazy. It’s awesome.”

FREEMAN ACADEMY-MARION (21-4): Connor Epp 6 2-3 17, Thalen Schroeder 4 2-2 10, Quincy Blue 4 1-3 11, Matthew Hagen 3 1-1 7, Maddox Kihne 1 0-0 3. Totals 18-53 6-9 48.

CASTLEWOOD (18-7): Tristan Nielsen 5 2-2 15, Booker Schooley 3 0-0 7, Lane Tvedt 4 1-2 11, Jackson Schofield 4 0-0 8, Bryon Laue 2 1-3 5, Kegan Tvedt 2 0-0 5, Quincy Thu 1 0-0 3, Joe Decker 4 0-1 10. Totals 25-52 4-8 64.

Freeman Academy-Marion 13 24 34 48

Castlewood 18 33 47 64

3-point field goals – Epp 3, Blue 2, Kihne; Nielsen 3, Schooley, L. Tvedt 2, K. Tvedt, Thu, Decker 2. Total fouls – Freeman Academy-Marion 12; Castlewood 15. Rebounds – Freeman Academy-Marion 30 (Epp 7, Schroeder 7); Castlewood 38 (Schooley 9). Assists – Freeman Academy-Marion 7; Castlewood 14 (Nielsen 4). Steals – Freeman Academy-Marion 6 (Hagen 4); Castlewood 5.