Freedom storms back to stun Liberty in battle of Bethlehem
Officially, it was Hall of Fame Night at Freedom on Friday with past Patriots standouts and athletic personalities Kim (Broughal) Moncman, Mike Coccia, Christy Longacre and Mike Quigley taking deserved bows during a ceremony for the school’s seventh class of inductees.
But by the end, it felt more like Senior Night as a bunch of 12th graders on the Freedom basketball team made sure their final league home game against rival Liberty would end well.
Nick Ellis, who before the game was honored for recently reaching the 1,000point mark, scored 11 of a game-high 26 points in the fourth quarter and fellow senior Joseph Dew hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 41 seconds left as Freedom rallied from a 12-point deficit for a stunning 54-49 win over Liberty in a memorable battle of Bethlehem.
Freedom, which improved to 10-4, 7-2 EPC, trailed throughout. The Patriots were down 29-19 at halftime and by as much as 39-25 with 4:22 left in the third quarter.
The Patriots were behind 42-32 after three quarters and when freshman Jake Pukszyn scored for Liberty it was 44-32 early in the final stanza.
But it was all Patriots from there thanks to Ellis and a relentless effort on both ends of the floor.
“We kept our composure, which was big since we were down 10 most of the game,” Freedom coach Joe Stellato said. “We kept talking positive and being positive and fought through it.”
Stellato said he didn’t think Ellis was getting the ball on offense as much as he should in the first half.
“At halftime, I made it a point to say they really haven’t stopped him all night so let’s get him a few more touches,” Stellato said. “They’re going to collapse on him so somebody else was going to have to come through.”
After Nate Rivera made two free throws with 2:45 left to give Liberty its last lead of the night at 49-47 it was Dew who came through.
After a series of turnovers, Dew, who was second on the team in 3-pointers with 13 coming in, hit a trey from the left baseline off an Aaron Levy pass. It made it 50-49 and Freedom was able to put the game away with four consecutive free throws by Krishna Mangroo and Jalen Fletcher.
Liberty, held to seven points in the fourth quarter, struggled with missed foul shots and turnovers down the stretch.
“It was an amazing feeling,” Dew said of his go-ahead 3-pointer. “Team camaraderie was really a big focus in the locker room. We had a sense of urgency and to come back from 10 down is a great feeling. You never want to give up in this rivalry. We just worked hard and got the win.”
Freedom felt its experience was a key factor late as the Patriots applied the pressure.
Hurricanes freshmen standouts Blake Hargrove and Pukszyn were playing in their first Liberty-Freedom game before a large, but well-behaved crowd. They had 12 and seven points respectively and combined for six assists. Pukszyn added seven steals. Sophomore Dywane Chess added eight points and four rebounds, but it wasn’t enough.
“You have to tip your cap to Freedom,” Liberty coach Nigel Long said. “Nick Ellis was a man out there and he took over the game and we didn’t have an answer. That’s on me as a coach. We have to do a much better job of making an adjustment with Ellis. Offensively, we just stalled. You’ve got to make free throws and value the ball and we didn’t do that.”
Liberty fell to 9-4, 7-3 with a trip to Allentown Central Catholic ahead on Tuesday night.
The Hurricanes will host Freedom on Feb. 3 and the two could meet again in both the league and District 11 6A tournaments, but for now, the bragging rights are on Chester Avenue.
“We have a young team and we’re going to learn from this,” Long said. “There are no losses, only lessons. We’re going to watch the film and I will learn as a coach. We’re right there, but Nick Ellis is one of the best players in the league. I have a lot of respect for him because he does it the right way.”
Ellis, who finished with nine rebounds and five steals to go with 10-for-14 shooting, wanted the ball in the second half.
“I felt like I had an opportunity to drive inside on them because I’m bigger and stronger,” he said. “Props to my teammates for getting me the ball and to my coaches to trust me in my ability to score the ball. I started stealing the ball because we kind of figured out their plays. We took advantage of that and got out more in transition.”
Ellis enjoyed the pregame festivities but admitted it wouldn’t have felt the same without a win.
A year ago, he said Freedom wouldn’t have won a game like that.
“We were in a lot of close games last year and lost them, but this year we have six experienced seniors and that gave us the opportunity to win this game because they have freshmen and sophomores,” Ellis said. “They’re going to improve as time goes on, but experience made a difference. We wanted to celebrate and beat our crosstown rival and we want to win our division. This is the first step toward that.”