Déjà vu: South Fayette hands Freeport another 3-point playoff loss

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, February 21, 2018 | 11:57 PM

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Freeport played the same opponent, on the same court, with the same 8 p.m. start time it did to begin last year’s playoffs. And for the second consecutive year, the Yellowjackets lost by the same 3-point margin.

If there’s a feeling of déjà vu for the Yellowjackets, it’s understandable, but there was one major difference in the two games.

The Yellowjackets held an eight-point lead against South Fayette in the fourth quarter Thursday, and it slipped away.

Tenth-seeded Freeport led for much of the second half, but No. 7 South Fayette rallied for a 48-45 victory in the first round of the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs at Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic.

Isiah Bauman had a 3-point attempt to tie glance off the rim in the final 10 seconds, and after Braden Hoy missed a pair of free throws with 2 seconds left, Ben Beale’s last-second desperation heave from midcourt fell short.

South Fayette (16-7) bounced Freeport (15-7), 63-60, last year. The Lions also topped the Yellowjackets by three points, 49-46, at Freeport’s tip-off tournament in December. South Fayette advanced to play No. 2 New Castle, 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Geneva College.

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The Lions rallied from a 38-30 deficit as Drew Franklin, Connor Mislan and Tim Locher hit consecutive layups to cut Freeport’s lead to two. After the Yellowjackets responded with a Beale runner, Mislan was fouled on a made layup and a technical foul was called on Garrett Schaffhauser after the basket. Mislan connected on both free throws for a 40-40 tie.

“It’s a game of runs. We had a run, but unfortunately, I think that the technical foul changed the complexion of the game,” Freeport coach Mike Beale said. “They hit those foul shots and then had the possession after it. It put them on a run.

“They said that (Schaffhauser) used some profanity. He told me he didn’t. I don’t know … in a playoff game like this, there’s a lot of talk going on out there. All these kids are talking. That single play alone I thought swung the momentum.”

Bauman scored on a drive that briefly gave Freeport the lead, but Hoy answered with a 3-pointer and Mislan connected on another 3-pointer with 1:22 remaining to put South Fayette ahead 46-44. Noah Plack hit a pair of free throws in the final seconds to give South Fayette a 3-point cushion.

“They had just about everyone back last year, and our team’s pretty much all new,” South Fayette coach Dave Mislan said. “We only had two guys from last year. I was concerned about the new playoff atmosphere for them, but man, you can’t get a better fourth quarter than that, and that’s when it counts.”

Freeport, which was seeking its first playoff win since 2010, opened the second half on a 9-0 run. Brown converted a pair of layups. Bauman hit a pair of free throws, and Aiden Skradski drained a 3-pointer in the corner to put Freeport in front, 27-19.

Freeport stayed maintained that lead until the Lions’ late run.

“We’ve been a second-half team all year,” Mike Beale said. “We flat out told them at halftime that it was probably the worst half we’d played all season, and we were only down one. So we felt pretty good going into the second half. We opened it up in the second half, and we knew we would. Aiden hit a couple of big shots, Isiah and Jalen did a great job defensively, and Ben did what he’s done for us all year. He gave us a solid all-around game. Jalen did a phenomenal job, and he has all year. Last year, playing on this floor compared to this year was night and day. He’s our floor leader, and he played like it tonight. Fortunately, we have him back next year.”

Ben Beale finished with a 16 points and Brown had 12. Mislan led South Fayette with 14 points. Plack and Franklin scored 10 apiece.

There were eight lead changes: five in the second quarter and three in the fourth.

Jerin Steele is a freelance writer.

Tags: Freeport, South Fayette