Freeport boys basketball team clicking during stretch of 6 wins in 7 game

By: George Guido
Thursday, February 3, 2022 | 5:17 PM

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Elton John is on his “Farewell Tour” right now.

But the Freeport boys basketball team is on its “revenge tour.”

The Yellowjackets have won six of their last seven Section 1-4A games and clinched the 36th WPIAL playoff berth in program history Tuesday with an 84-55 victory over Derry Area.

“We’ve had a pretty good month,” said Freeport first-year coach Sean Devinney. “We have a lot of guys who play multiple sports. We got a lot of football guys, and we got them late. I just think things are clicking right now. It took a little bit more time than we had hoped.”

Freeport has won its last three section games, including big victories over Deer Lakes and Burrell last week to set the stage for Tuesday’s clincher.

Said Devinney: “We call it our revenge tour. The first time around, both of those were winnable games. It kind of burned us that we let both of those go. We knew those were going to be big games for us.”

The week ended with a scintillating, 56-53 victory over Burrell, with senior Vinnie Clark hitting a 3-pointer at the buzzer to win the game and set off a wild on-floor celebration with the play making the rounds on social media

“I saw it so many times over the weekend, it like six different videos at six different angles,” Clark said. “It was the best thing ever. It’s every kid’s dream to hit a shot like that. I’ve actually shot a lot of buzzer-beaters in the past but never hit one.”

Clark pointed out one video showed his foot nearly on the sideline, which would have negated the play and sent the game into overtime.

The football Yellowjackets, which Clark was an instrumental part of, made it to the second round of the WPIAL playoffs before exiting.

“We didn’t have the guys in the fall,” Devinney added. “I went to a football game, and I think every kid on the field was one of our basketball players. We’re starting to hit our stride, and the guys are really excited about it.”

Senior guard Jason Kijowski also has come on strong, averaging 13.8 points per game in the last month, and Devinney likes the energy that junior Parker Lucas brings.

Freeport will try to continue its hot streak Friday night at home against Keystone Oaks. The Yellowjackets edged the Golden Eagles, 56-55, in the first meeting.

Freeport is ½-game behind Burrell in the race for second place in Section 1. What’s added more to the final stretch of the regular season is the likelihood of the higher-seeded teams opening the playoffs at home. The WPIAL office said it will send out a letter next week outlining the requirements to host a postseason game.

“We’ve never had a basketball playoff game at home. It would be exciting,” Clark said. “We had a football game at our new stadium to start the playoffs.

Added Devinney: “It’s things like that you are fighting for at this time of the season.”

Except for last year during the pandemic and in the 1984 open tournament season, all WPIAL basketball playoffs have been on neutral floors.

Tags: Freeport