For a better part of sixteen minutes, the Freedom boys basketball team was neck and neck with Parkland. But poor shooting and turnovers proved to be too much to overcome as the Patriots fell behind by double digits in the second half, and were beaten 55-38 at Freedom High School last Friday night.

It may be in large part because of the graduations of Derek Chiclana and Nyreef Jackson, who the Patriots relied on heavily to put the ball in the basket a year ago.

"It's tough, we just don't have guys that can put the ball in the hole," said head coach Joe Stellato. "Our shooting percentage has been really low. It's tough because we have a lot of young and inexperienced kids. They're just not being aggressive and sometimes lacking confidence. As a coach it's frustrating because you don't know what buttons to push."

Senior forward David Williams did his part to keep his team in it from the beginning. He tallied nine of the eleven first quarter points, scoring three different ways (a 3-pointer, two field goals, and two free throws). Najee Cash had the other two points for Freedom (5-8 overall, 4-3 LVC), as they trailed 12-11 after one.

Both teams struggled from the field early. Parkland shot 5-for-14, and the Patriots went 4-for-12 during the first eight minutes.

Freedom matched their point total in the second quarter with five different players scoring. Dashaun Neufville, Nigel Long, Williams, Nick Sharpe, and Jeff Toronto all chipped in points, and the Patriots still were hanging around, down 26-22 at halftime.

But things changed in the final sixteen minutes.

Freedom was only able to add sixteen points to their total, shooting 7-for-25 from the field. Parkland, on the other hand, tallied 29 points over the final two quarters, and no problem finding a rhythm offensively.

"It's been happening all year like this," noted Stellato. "For whatever reason in the third quarter we come out and don't execute. My assistant coach said it right when he said we do a good job preparing for these teams. In the first half we hang with them. And in the third quarter sometimes the better team just prevails in those situations. They're better than us right now."

Williams tallied a team-high 20 points, and Neufville and Long both contributed six points.

Freedom is still in the mix with Liberty, Becahi, and Easton for the division lead in the Lehigh Valley Conference. The Patriots travel to Dieruff on Friday night.