Improvement during season’s 2nd half has Freeport in playoff hunt in Section 1-4A

By: Jerin Steele
Thursday, February 1, 2024 | 4:45 PM

When reading through the local boys basketball results last weekend, seeing Freeport 61, Knoch 55 might have been a surprise to some.

For the Yellowjackets, the upset win over their neighboring rival was a product of hard work and determination that’s led to improvement.

It also was a boost as they make a push for a postseason bid.

“The boys were certainly excited in the locker room,” first-year Freeport coach Rich Macura said. “We prepared to win, and when you have those goals and expectations come through, the excitement definitely showed up.

“(Knoch) is a geographic rival, and we play them in a lot of sports from junior high and up. Their coach (Alan Bauman) is a Freeport grad. I’m a Freeport grad, so it goes all the way up. It’s a friendly rivalry between us.”

The Yellowjackets are tied for fourth with Indiana at 2-5 in the Section 1-4A standings with three games remaining.

Freeport hosts Indiana next Friday, which will likely determine the final playoff spot.

The start was key in Freeport’s win over Knoch. The Yellowjackets got out to a 23-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.

“I think that initial shock was something they didn’t expect,” Macura said. “That certainly helped us.”

Freeport got contributions from across the spectrum of their roster.

Senior Brady Sullivan, one of Freeport’s most experienced players, led the way with a game-high 20 points. Naturally it was a big night for Sullivan, in likely his final time facing Knoch.

“It was nice seeing Brady be successful,” Macura said. “He had 20 points on 13 shots, so it was probably one of his best all-around games all year.”

The Yellowjackets also got big performances from freshman Danny King, who scored 13 points, and sophomore Carson Kane, who had 10.

Kane had been playing junior varsity most of the year but impressed enough to start getting more varsity time down the stretch.

“Danny, as a freshman, didn’t let the moment be too big for himself,” Macura said. “A couple weeks ago, we told Carson if he did his job in practice and played hard and produced in JV games he’d get more minutes in the varsity game. He scored 27 points in the JV game, so we put him in, and he ended up scoring his 10 points in the first quarter.”

Before the game with Indiana, Freeport will play road games at section leader Hampton on Friday and last-place Greensburg Salem on Tuesday. Indiana has Knoch and Highlands before the section finale.

Indiana won the first meeting with Freeport, 53-44, on Jan. 18.

Macura has been pleased with how his players have bought into the system, and the work they’ve put in to get better as the season has progressed.

The first reward was a win over their rival. Now the goal is to achieve another feat by qualifying for the playoffs.

“The big thing is we’ve shown improvement from the first time through section play,” Macura said. “Obviously the win against Knoch was huge, but we also did better against Highlands. They beat us both times, but we saw improvement in the score and our play, so we were happy about that.”

Jerin Steele is a freelance writer

Tags: Freeport