The Parkland boys basketball team was not ready for the atmosphere they faced last Saturday night in the opening game of the season. Freedom played with a lot of energy in front of their crowd, and were on point offensively, taking the finale of the Yasso/Rothrock Christmas City Classic 54-47 at Freedom High School.

The Patriots jumped on the Trojans early in the first quarter, with Nyreef Jackson and Stellar Tournament MVP Derike Chiclana leading the way. Jackson hit three from beyond the arc, and in the second quarter Chiclana raced to the hoop and threw down a two-handed dunk to bring the "Freedom Family" into a frenzy.

Freedom held a commanding 33-17 at halftime, as Parkland could not seem to find any rhythm offensively or defensively.

"I think it was a combination of both," head coach Andy Stephens said about his team on both ends of the court. "The first quarter they had 21 points, and they finished with 54. I think for as bad as our defense had played that first quarter, we were able to hold them to 33 the rest of the game. We just shot a very low percentage."

Senior Austin Beidelman struggled from the field going 4-for-14 with 10 points.

Freedom was bigger on the front court. Chiclana and David Williams had a couple of inches over Nate Case and Justin Zajko. The Patriots used the inside-outside game well. Guards Nigel Long and Maceo Connor used their speed and vision to find easy baskets for their teammates.

Parkland trailed by as much as 18 in the third, and ended that quarter down 46-29. But the Trojans showed some life starting the final eight minutes. After Nick Selvaggi put back a miss from Nick Rindock, Patriots head coach Joe Stellato called timeout up by only eight with 5:18 remaining.

That seemed to have settle down his team, as they finished the final five plus minutes strong.

"We weren't in sync all game," said Stephens. "I think we have kids that, if we're not shooting the ball well, they've got to make up for it in other ways. Unfortunately tonight, some things didn't go our way, and I think we let one mistake turn into two rather than moving on to the next play."

Stephens added a positive of some of his guys coming off the bench to give them a spark. Selvaggi, sophomore Nick Hassler and freshman Devante Cross played valuable minutes for the Trojans.

It is not the result that Parkland may have wanted, but it was the first game to a long season, one in which the Trojans are viewed as a contender in the league and in the district.

"I told them playing at their gym, in front of their crowd, it was going to be tough," said Stephens. "We didn't step up to the challenge, but I know that we're going to get better. We'll regroup and move on. We're just going to take things in stride and get better and better."

Rindock was named player of the game for the Trojans, finishing with 13 points and six rebounds. Zajko tallied 12 points and six boards, and Case contributed six points and five rebounds.