Freeport 57, Auburn 56: Freeport saw a 17-point third-quarter lead evaporate and a last-second shot by Auburn fall short as the Pretzels earned a NIC-10 boys victory Friday.
“We started taking some quick shots and making turnovers,” Freeport junior forward Austin Davis said of Auburn’s comeback. “But we got it back together at the end and got the win out of it.”
Freeport led 39-22 with 6:26 left in the third period before Auburn turned up the defense and hit several 3-pointers to slice the deficit to 45-44 midway through the fourth quarter.
Auburn (13-7, 8-3 NIC-10) took a 53-52 lead on Cortavien Wiggins’ 3-pointer with 2:06 left, but Freeport rallied with three points from Eric Douglas and a pair of free throws by Ryan Hickey for a 57-53 advantage.
Auburn sophomore reserve Anthony Strickland hit the third of his 3-pointers with 13 seconds left to pull within one point. After Freeport missed two free throws, the Knights’ last-second 3-pointer from the top of the key came up short.
“We never stopped talking about what we needed to do,” Auburn coach Bryan Ott said. “We never stopped believing in each other and what they could accomplish. ... Unfortunately when you dig yourself a hole no matter how hard you play, you can’t guarantee you can dig yourself out of it.”
Freeport (11-8, 6-5) found itself in a 13-6 hole after the first quarter, but rallied with 25 second-period points for a 31-19 halftime lead.
“Our kids were resilient,” Freeport coach Jeff Lawfer said. “We knocked down open shots. We spread them out. We just did a lot of good things you need to do to win basketball games.”
Davis sparked the second-quarter rally with six of his team-high 13 points, three rebounds and an assist. Freeport’s Jalen Carroll also hit three 3s and Luke Norman added eight points in the comeback.
Auburn’s Eddie Cade scored all 13 of his points in the third quarter. Ayrryous Ford had 17 points to lead the Knights, who were without starters Darnell Van Vleet (ankle sprain) and Eddie Bowling (knee). Strickland scored 11.
“All these losses have been painful, but we just learn from them,” Cade said. “But when we get everybody healthy we’ll be all right.”
Carroll finished with 12 for Freeport, while Hickey and Douglas had 11. Douglas also contributed seven assists and two steals.
“For this team to be good we need to share the basketball, and we did that tonight,” said Lawfer, who was without suspended players Josh Lewis and Trent Huntoon.
- Doug Goodman, rrstar.com
