Freedom High School boys basketball team beats Easton Area High School

Walking past the scorer's table after the game Thursday night, Freedom High School senior guard Joe Lococo overheard some astonishing numbers.

"I heard we shot 10-for-36," he said. "If you hear that stat, you say 'No way, we're not going to win,' but this team finds ways to win and that is what's special about this team."

Despite struggling from the field, the Patriots maintained their lead in the Lehigh Valley Conference East Division by beating Easton 40-29 in a gritty game at Easton Area Middle School.

Freedom improved to 16-2 overall and 10-2 in the LVC as the Red Rovers dropped to 15-5 and 8-4. Liberty, which hosts Bethlehem Catholic tonight, is in the thick of the race as well at 13-6 and 8-3.

"We try not to talk about that," Freedom coach Joe Stellato said. "We try to focus one game at a time, and I stay true to that in talking about every game as a championship game.

"We didn't really talk about playoffs or anything, just one game -- us against Easton."

Just as Freedom struggled shooting, so did Easton.

The Red Rovers, who got their first points of the night with 34 seconds left in the first quarter, shot 13 of 48 from the field and were shut out over the final four-plus minutes.

Down since the start, Easton took its first lead at 29-28 when senior guard Noel Hightower made 1 of 2 free throw attempts with 4:05 remaining. Freedom regained the lead on a pair of makes from the line by Lococo, who scored a game-high 17 points, with 2:51 left.

While shutting out Easton at the defensive end, the Patriots scored the game's final 12 points from the foul line, making all but two attempts. Lococo was 8-for-8, junior center Derike Chiclana (nine points) was 2 of 4 and senior guard Jarrod Dilts was 2-for-2.

"We played great defense," Lococo said. "They didn't score after they took the lead. Winning this game the way we did is a huge confidence boost."

Not only did Stellato emphasize stout defense before tipoff, the coach stressed the importance of winning the game on the boards.

Freedom, led by Chiclana's game-high nine, won the rebounding battle 36-20.

"They pounded the boards," Easton coach Jim Hutnik said. "There were a lot of loose balls they got in situations where we didn't come up with the ball during a crucial time."

The Rovers, who had their seven-game win streak snapped, stayed within striking distance at halftime, 20-14.

DeVante Queen's layup with three seconds left in the third quarter for Easton made it a two possession game at 25-20. Queen, who scored eight points, then tied the score at 28-28 on a layup with 4:49 remaining, forcing Freedom to call a timeout.

Momentum appeared to be favoring Easton when Hightower made the second of two free throw attempts less than a minute later for the lead, but it proved not to be the case.

"We talked about rebounding the basketball and we did that; we talked about defense and we did that," Stellato said. "Our kids are such competitors and they hate to lose. They haven't lost a lot and they hate that feeling so something kicks in with them. I can't take that credit.

"We beat a good basketball team tonight. I'm proud of our kids."

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Freedom High School boys basketball team beats Easton Area High School