Travis Kriens/KORN News Radio News Director
MITCHELL, S.D. — A matchup between two of Class B’s hottest teams will take center stage Saturday afternoon as Freeman and Wall meet in one of the featured games of the 2026 DWU/Culver’s Boys Classic at the Corn Palace.
Tipoff is set for 4:30 p.m. as part of a nine-game schedule that runs throughout the day in Mitchell. The contest, along with the nightcap between Parkston and Ethan, will be broadcast on Q107.3 FM and streamed at Q107Radio.com.
The meeting pits No. 4B Wall against No. 5B Freeman, both squads riding lengthy winning streaks and each eyeing postseason positioning with the regular season winding down.
Wall comes in fifth in Class B seed points with a 13-3 record and averages 73 points per game while allowing 48. After early-season setbacks at the Lakota Nation Invitational to Mahpíya Lúta and Pine Ridge, plus a January loss to No. 2 Viborg-Hurley at the Corn Palace, the Eagles have surged with nine consecutive victories.
The offense has been powered by Teelan Kjerstad, who averages 28.6 points per game and shoots 41% from 3-point range on eight attempts per game. He also contributes defensively with 4.3 steals per contest. Emmet Dinger adds balance with 15.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, giving Wall a potent one-two scoring punch.
Freeman, seventh in Class B seed points at 15-2, enters with momentum of its own. The Flyers dropped their opener to Viborg-Hurley and fell to Pine Ridge in early January, also at the Corn Palace, but have since rattled off 13 straight wins.
David Walter leads a balanced Freeman lineup, averaging 18 points, 7.5 rebounds and three assists per game. Luke Peters chips in 10 points, while Tate Sorensen (9.5 points), Tayden Kerrigan (9 points) and Luke Miller (6.5 points) round out the starting five.
Saturday’s game also brings recent history. The teams met in last year’s Class B State Tournament, where Wall claimed a 79-67 victory in the fifth-place game. Freeman, meanwhile, is continuing its resurgence after reaching the state tournament last season for the first time in 26 years.
The Flyers face a challenging postseason path in Region 4B, widely regarded as one of the toughest in Class B. The region includes top-seeded Viborg-Hurley and sixth-seeded Parkston, meaning only two of the three highly ranked teams will advance to the SoDak 16.
While the Freeman vs. Wall game stands as one of the day’s marquee pairings, the classic features several other high profile matchups. Among them are No. 2B Viborg-Hurley facing No. 8B Wessington Springs at 7:30 p.m., and a 6 p.m. clash between No. 2A Sioux Falls Christian and No. 6A St. Thomas More. The event concludes with No. 7B Parkston taking on Ethan at 9 p.m., also a Q107.3 broadcast.