Flashbacks of heartbreak was in the minds of many of the current 2019-20 Freedom boys basketball players, along with head coach Joe Stellato and his staff, about this time last year. The Patriots lost their final game of last season on a long buzzer-beater by East Stroudsburg South in a district quarterfinal round game to cut their season short of their yearly goals.

But fast forward to 364 days later, and in the same gym, in the same round, against the same opponent, Freedom decided it was going to flip the script and feel joyous instead of sadness.

The fourth-seeded Patriots had a strong second half, outscoring the fifth-seeded Cavaliers 31-19, including 15-5 in the fourth quarter to fulfill their revenge, winning 59-43 last Saturday afternoon in the District 11 6A quarterfinals at Allen High School. It was the first win in the district tournament for Freedom since 2013, as it also now earned a spot in the PIAA 6A State Tournament following districts.

“That game bothered me for an entire year and it bothered the kids even more than it bothered me,” Stellato said regarding last year’s heartbreaker to ES South. “We were on a mission all week and we had great practices, great scrimmages.”

Freedom (16-8 overall) led 28-24 at halftime, outscoring ES South (16-8) by two points each of the first two quarters, but came out of the locker room on fire, opening the third quarter on a 13-2 spurt that gave them a commanding double-digit lead for the first time during the game. The Patriots did it on both ends of the floor during that stretch, allowing just one Cavaliers field goal in the third, coming with about one minute left.

“We came out possessed,” said Stellato on the second half. “We did things and that’s what I am most excited about going forward. We knew they were going to make a run, but we weathered the storm.”

That Cavaliers run came toward the end of the third quarter as they came to within six points, 44-38, after a three-pointer by Johnny Greene, heading into the final frame. But the fourth quarter saw the Patriots buckle in defensively, holding the Cavs to just five points as their zone caused havoc on the shooters.

“We’re not a zone team and sometimes it’s tough for our guys to stay in that zone, but we had to pull it out,” Stellato said. “ES South wasn’t shooting great from the outside and we had to use the zone and I’m proud of the way we played it. For not having played a zone that much all year, they played it pretty well. We pushed some buttons and the kids responded.”

Brothers Caleb and Malik Mims each finished with 14 points, and also combined for eight assists and three steals. Freshman Nick Ellis had a breakout game for the Patriots, recording 13 points and grabbing six rebounds.

Freedom will now play the number one seed and Eastern Pennsylvania Conference champion Allen in a district semifinal round game tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Liberty High School.