Knoch pulls away from Freeport in 3rd quarter of 65-48 win
BUFFALO TWP — Five possessions, five consecutive buckets.
Visiting Knoch used that sequence — propelled by sophomore back-court partners Jackson Bauman and Teegan Finucan — to start to distance itself from Freeport in the third quarter of a 65-48 WPIAL Section 1-4A boys hoops win Wednesday night.
That 10-2 Knights (7-2, 1-0) surge occurred over a 2:11 span, with either Bauman or Finucan accounting for each basket.
“We talk about the first three minutes of the third quarter being very important,” Yellowjackets coach Rick Macura said. “Unfortunately, we lost that three minutes and it pretty much dictated the rest of the game.”
Prior to that run, Freeport (2-8, 0-1) had gone on a 8-0 charge of its own that stretched back into the end of the first half and began when Brady Sullivan sank a pair of treys in the final 42 seconds of the second frame.
“We talk about all the time coming out ready to go in the third quarter,” Knoch coach Alan Bauman said. “I think we did that.”
The younger Bauman finished with a game-high 27 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. Finucan helped out with 20 points, three boards, and two helpers. Their presence was key in turning a six-point advantage into a 20-point edge with 4:39 to play.
“I thought they controlled the pace, especially in the second half,” Bauman said. “They both just (said), ‘Hey, I’m going to attack the rim.’ We stopped settling and attacked the rim. We did a much better job in the second half of getting out in transition and pushing the basketball. That afforded some really good looks for everybody.”
“We just had a difficult time containing their two guards,” Macura said. “We were able to limit (Derek) Lang to some outside shots, but Jackson Bauman and Finucan were able to do what they wanted to do.”
Sullivan totaled 25 points — including five makes from deep — and Gavin Glista and Brady Paga both had 10 points. Macura said that his offense was thrown off balance by the Knights’ persistent defensive set.
“I thought their press dictated the tempo,” he said. “Unfortunately, we do like to get it up and down a little faster than that. I think their size — you know, 6-7, 7-foot — made it difficult for us at times.”
Overall, the ‘Jackets shot 16-for-44 (36.3%), including a 5-for-25 (20%) mark from beyond the arc.
“I thought we had some good looks out of offense in our game plan,” Macura said. “We just weren’t able to knock them down. If we knock them down, maybe a couple foul shots we make in the first quarter, it’s a little bit of a different game at the end.”
Freeport is missing starter and senior guard Brian Kijowski and sixth-man Nash Lucas because of injuries.
“We need a couple other guys to step up and chip in a few more points,” Macura said.
KNOCH 65
Jackson Bauman 9 8-10 27, Teegan Finucan 9 0-0 20, Zane Pacek 5 0-0 8, Zarian Finucan 2 0-0 5, Derek Lang 2 0-0 5. Totals: 27 8-10 65.
FREEPORT 48
Brady Sullivan 9 2-3 25, Gavin Glista 3 4-5 10, Brady Paga 3 4-7 10, Danny King 1 0-0 2. Totals: 16 11-17 48.
Knoch 13 17 17 18 — 65
Freeport 6 16 12 14 — 48
3-point goals: Freeport 5 (Sullivan 5); Knoch 4 (Lang, Bauman, T. Finucan, Z. Finucan)
Friday: Freeport at Highlands; Greensburg Salem at Knoch
