BUFFALO TWP — The score got out of hand early. Starters left the floor.

But one element of Knoch’s 71-29 WPIAL Section 1-4A boys basketball victory at Freeport on Tuesday night stayed the same.

Defense.

“That’s non-negotiable with us,” Knights coach Alan Bauman said of playing staunch defense. “Our entire program begins with that.”

After holding a strong North Catholic team under 60 points Friday, the Knights (10-4, 5-1) clamped down on the Yellowjackets (3-10, 1-5) from the opening tip. Freeport managed only 17 points over the final three quarters.

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Knoch enjoyed a 31-16 edge in rebounding, and Freeport had 16 turnovers, compared to only seven by the Knights.

“They are much bigger than us, more physically mature than were, and that hurt,” Freeport coach Rich Macura said. “We just couldn’t get much going against them.

“We attacked their press, did some things well. We had some open looks but couldn’t finish. That and our turnovers led to transition points for them the other way.”

The Knights had a 27-12 lead after one quarter and led 31-16 midway through the second period. That’s when junior guard Teegan Finucan went off.

Finucan keyed an 18-0 Knoch run by scoring the first 12 points of the spurt, including a trio of 3-pointers. He scored 14 of his game-high 26 points in the second quarter.

“It felt good to put together a game like this,” Finucan said. “I was overdue for a break-out game offensively. Hopefully, I can keep it up.”

“We’ve been waiting for Teegan to put together a game like this,” Bauman said. “He’s always been capable. We wanted to get going with a few things tonight, and that was one of them.”

But Finucan’s mind was not on offense. Like his teammates, he remained in defensive mode.

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“Defense is what we take the most pride in,” he said. “We work on it more than people realize. Our goal is to be the best defensive team in western Pennsylvania. There’s no reason why we can’t be.”

Vinnie DeFelice came off the bench to score nine points for the Knights. Jackson Bauman contributed nine rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Knoch’s top eight players were out of the game by early in the fourth quarter.

Carson Kane scored 11 points and had a pair of steals for Freeport. No other Yellowjacket scored more than five points as Freeport was limited to 12 field goals as a team. The Yellowjackets did not attempt a free throw until late in the fourth quarter.

“We had some unforced turnovers and didn’t finish enough plays,” Macura said. “That part of the game was disappointing.”

Knoch plays at Valley while Freeport hosts Deer Lakes on Friday night. The Yellowjackets will honor their seniors that evening.

KNOCH 71

Jack McCool 3-4 0-0 6, Derek Lang 2-3 3-3 7, Jackson Bauman 1-5 0-0 2, Brody Bauman 2-4 0-0 6, Roman DeFelice 2-4 1-1 6, Teegan Finucan 9-17 4-5 26, Liam Avon 2-3 0-0 4, Vinnie DeFelice 3-7 2-3 9, Zane Pacek 1-3 0-0 2, Evan Fink 1-2 0-0 3, Owen Gillis 0-1 0-0 0, Connor Brink 0-0 0-0 0, Carter Brestensky 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 26-54 10-12 71.

FREEPORT 29

Danny King 2-3 0-0 4, Bryson Paga 1-2 0-0 2, Sean Selinger 0-3 0-0 0, Dempsey Cowan 2-5 0-0 5, Carsin Kane 4-10 0-0 11, Cam Zigo 1-2 1-3 3, Michael Graczyk 2-7 0-0 4, Gavin Tola 0-1 0-0 0, CJ Walker 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 12-35 1-3 29.

Knoch 27 18 17 9 — 71

Freeport 12 4 8 5 — 29

3-point goals: Knoch 9 (B. Bauman 2, Finucan 4, R. DeFelice, V. DeFelice, Fink), Freeport 4 (Cowan, Kane 3)

JV: Freeport, 43-24 (K: Evan Fink 9; F: Owen Westendorf 11, Luke Logsdon 10)

Friday: Knoch at Valley, Deer Lakes at Freeport