Freeport misses mark at buzzer in loss to Indiana

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, December 23, 2017 | 12:09 AM

Ben Beale made five 3-pointers and finished with a team-high 15 points Friday as Freeport hoped to score a home win over Indiana, the Tribune-Review's No. 3 team in WPIAL Class 4A.

The Yellowjackets thwarted several attempts by Indiana to pull away and were in position to win in the final seconds.

But a final attempt by Beale from beyond the arc with 4 seconds left rang off the rim, and a rebound and putback jumper from Isiah Bauman was blocked by Indiana's Carlos Carter as the Indians (6-0, 3-0) escaped with a 53-51 triumph in Section 1 at Freeport Middle School.

“Even though we lost, we can build on this,” Freeport coach Mike Beale said. “This sets the standard for where we can be and where we need to be.”

The game bore a resemblence to last year's matchup at Freeport when Beale sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Yellowjackets a 61-58 win.

“I was really proud of the effort and teamwork we showed,” Mike Beale said. “The focus and energy was there. I know we are 0-2 in the conference, but at this point in the year, we played hard against a 6-0 team that is ranked in 4A with one of the best backcourts in the WPIAL in (Tommy) Arbuckle and (Carlos) Carter. We were able to take them to the limit with an opportunity to win.”

Aidan Skradski connected on a 3-pointer with 18 seconds left to pull Freeport (2-4, 0-2) within 53-51, and the Yellowjackets almost stole the inbounds pass. But Carter took control of the ball and was fouled by Bauman.

Carter missed both free throws with 12 seconds left to set up the final dramatic sequence.

Indiana defeated its previous three opponents — Deer Lakes, Valley and Kiski Area — by an average of 27 points.

The Indians appeared poised to pull away on several occasions Friday but were not able to deliver the knockout punch.

“We've had some games close in the first half, but we've been able to take control in the second half,” Indiana coach Greg Lezanic said.

“We knew Freeport wasn't going to go away. We weren't crisp and couldn't pull away. We were sloppy at times, but they forced us to be sloppy. Their athletes have quick feet, quick hands, and they play hard.”

Freeport's defense forced Indiana into 17 turnovers. The Yellowjackets committed just 10 turnovers.

Six Indiana players scored in the first quarter en route to a 16-11 lead after the first eight minutes.

But Freeport kept up the defensive pressure in the second quarter and caused more Indians miscues. Bauman tallied eight of his 12 points in the second, and his 3-pointer at the first-half buzzer tied the scoree at 26.

The Yellowjackets took their first and only lead of the game in the opening seconds of the second half on a Jalen Brown layup, but Indiana responded with a 9-0 spurt to lead 35-28 with 4 minutes left in the third.

Freeport pulled to within 40-36 at the end of the third and then got free throws from Brown and a layup off a steal from Bauman early in the fourth to tie the score.

Indiana, led by five points from Carter, grabbed a 47-40 advantage with 4:33 left.

The Yellowjackets made a final 9-4 run paced by the 3-point bucket from Skradski and one trey each from Beale and Damon Shiring.

Indiana had three players finish in double figures, led by Carter's game-best 20 points. He hit a trio of 3-pointers and complemented his scoring effort with seven rebounds.

Ben Bianco added 12 points for the Indians, and Arbuckle had 11.

“We slowed them down a little bit with our press,” Mike Beale said. “We made a nice adjustment at hafltime and slowed the tempo. I thought Isiah did a nice job on Carter.”

In addition to Beale's 15, Bauman finished with 12 points.

Shiring added 11 points and eight rebounds.

“I'm satisfied with the way we played,” Ben Beale said. “We expect that and need that every single game. We're improving.”

Michael Love is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at mlove@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Mlove_Trib.

Tags: Freeport, Indiana