Basketball teams don't look to live by the three point shot, which is why Freedom head coach Joe Stellato has some sense of worry about his team's reliance from deep through the first two games of the season.

After an opening season loss to Whitehall, Freedom got in the win column last Friday night following a convincing 61-49 victory over Easton.

Nigel Long led all scorers with 23 points, while David Williams and Deshaun Neufville each added 11 points.

In a contrasting style from their first encounter with Whitehall, who used a matchup zone to slow down the pace in their opener, Freedom was able to run and build a 17-point lead heading into the fourth quarter against the Rovers.

"I was nervous about this game because when we looked at Easton on film, they played hard and were scrappy," said Stellato. "I wasn't sure if we were going to be able to play at that speed, but our guys definitely stepped up."

Long has been the driving force for the Pates this season from the back court, leading Freedom in scoring in both of their first two games of the season, while the Pates have hit 19 three pointers in their first two contest, including eight against Easton. David Williams nailed three treys from behind the arc against the Rovers and Neufville has now hit at least a pair in both games.

But living and dying by the three is not what Stellato wants.

"I've never been the type of coach that has preached that type of style of play," said Stellato about relying on triples. "We need to balance it out more with inside play. The good thing, however, is that we're proving that we can hit shots from the outside."

That thought process may come into play more this week, where Freedom (1-1) will need a more balanced attack against the likes of Bethlehem Catholic (0-2) and Liberty (2-0) Friday night.

"It's a tough week for us," he said. "We can definitely run with these teams and we have some size that we can use, but we need to work the ball inside. It's an exciting week at the same time because I really want to see how the kids respond."