Knoch boys capture share of section title with win over Freeport

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, February 5, 2019 | 11:09 PM

Knoch completed its improbable climb from a 1-win team in section play last year to a section champion this year.

The Knights broke open a close contest in the third period and closed the game from the foul line in a 56-43 victory over Freeport.

Ahead 26-24 with 6 minutes, 43 seconds left in the third quarter, Knoch went on a 13-0 run to secure the program’s first section title in five seasons.

The Knights finished the Section 1-4A race tied with Highlands at 9-1. Both schools will receive a section plaque Tuesday when the WPIAL meets to issue the playoff pairings at the Green Tree Doubletree Hotel.

Knoch finished just 1-11 a year ago in Section 2-5A.

“I’m happy for my coaching staff, but I’m just thrilled for the kids,” Knights coach Ron McNabb said. “It’s so hard to do. These guys have worked so hard. We started out 2-3 (overall), and we just put it together and these guys never lost confidence.”

“Last year we won just one game, and we weren’t supposed to be here this year,” said Julian Sanks, the only senior starter for the Knights. “Now we’re section champions, and it feels amazing. It’s been a fun year.”

Sanks scored 11 points, nine in the first half. He collected six rebounds.

Knoch (15-5) jumped out to an 18-9 lead on Jared Schrecengost’s 3-pointer with 1:13 left in the first quarter. But Freeport (10-8, 4-5) fought back, cutting the lead to 18-17 on a basket by freshman Matt Aulicino on a feed from Garret Schaffhauser.

Another Schaffhauser basket 1:13 into the second half sliced the Knoch lead to 26-24. But the Knights scored the next 13 points to take control of the game. Freshman Ryan Lang, who led Knoch with 15 points, nailed a 3-pointer to put the Knights in front 39-24.

Brady McKee contributed seven points to the surge and finished with 13 points and seven rebounds.

“We wanted Brady to be a little more assertive,” McNabb said. “We talked about that at halftime. We thought we could get the ball into him. He’s a real strong kid.”

Said Freeport coach Wayne Greiser: “We couldn’t throw it into the ocean there for a while. We couldn’t score, couldn’t convert. We were causing problems for them, defensively, with our press. But if we’re not scoring, we can’t set up our press.”

A 44-31 Knoch lead set up a bizarre fourth quarter where neither team scored during a 3-minute, 34-second span. The Knights got 10 points via free throws before McKee’s basket with 4 seconds left accounted for the final score.

Despite the loss, Freeport qualified for the WPIAL playoffs for the third consecutive season and the 34th time in school history.

“I’m happy with it,” Greiser said of the playoff spot. “We have some work to do in practice and some things we definitely have to improve on. We followed our game plan tonight, and this is what we can expect in the playoffs: a tough, physical team.”

The Yellowjackets played without starters Nolan Plocki and Aiden Skradski. Plocki is out for the season with a torn labrum, but Freeport hopes Skradski is back for the playoffs.

George Guido is a freelance writer.

Tags: Freeport, Knoch