Freeport guard Wes Gastel could tell as soon as the whistle blew what went wrong.
He hesitated before going up for a shot. And it cost the Pretzels one last chance to tie the game with less than two minutes to go as Hononegah won, 61-54.
“There was a long outlet pass and I got the pass and saw the defender jump,” Gastel said. “So I took my time a little and travelled.
“I should have just taken it up.”
The missed opportunity would have tied the game at 54-all with about 2 1//2 minutes left in the game. Instead, Mario Donaldson (four points) was fouled and hit two free throws in the double bonus and made it a two possession game.
But the Pretzels didn’t lose the game on Gastel’s (three points) turnover. Throughout the contest, the Pretzels put themselves in positions to come back in a game in which Freeport ended the first quarter down 22-4.
“We found ourselves in a hole the whole night,” said Freeport guard Ryan Hickey, who finished with 14 points. “It seems like we’ve been in a hole on a regular basis the last couple of weeks. Hononegah was just on fire in the first quarter.”
Hononegah standout David Brown (game-high 21 points) hit all three of his 3-pointers in the first half.
“David Brown came to play tonight,” Hickey said.
Freeport struggled throughout the first half with closing out on all Indians’ shooters from behind the arc. As frustrating as the night started, the Pretzels found a way to come back in the second half.
Down nine points to begin the third quarter, Hickey made two 3s which cut the lead to 32-29. But as Freeport coach Jeff Lawfer told his team during a timeout, the Pretzels became their worst enemy.
Hononegah’s fastbreak was too much for Pretzels and eventually gained its nine-point lead again. Communication was something Freeport struggled with on transition defense all night.
“Part of that was us not coming back on defense,” Hickey said. “We didn’t do a very good job talking, me included, on transition defense.
“That hurt us big time. There’d be times down the floor where no one was guarding them. It was easy lay-ups for them.”
In the fourth quarter, Hononegah struggled with Freeport’s backcourt pressure created by Eric Douglas (16 points), Austin Davis (12) and Gastel. After a Ryan Hickey 3, a Davis free throw and jumper later on, the Pretzels tied the game 52-all.
But it wasn’t enough. After the Donaldson score, the Pretzels scored just two more points and Brown made a tough lay-up to all but end the game.
— Joey Baskerville, Gatehouse News Service
