Freedom High School boys basketball team defeats Easton Area High School 53-40

FROM THE EXPRESS TIMES

Nyreef Jackson sensed something special was happening last summer with the Freedom High School boys basketball program.

"This group became really close," said Jackson, a 6-foot-3 junior swingman. "We all don't care who scores. We play to win."

The Patriots' strong showing over the summer is carrying over into the early stages of the season.

Jackson scored 18 points Friday night and senior guard Joe Lococo added 17 to lead Freedom to a convincing 53-40 victory over visiting Easton in the Lehigh Valley Conference opener for both schools.

Freedom (2-0 overall, 1-0 LVC) was the Express-Times preseason pick to win the LVC East Division.

"Easton has always been a good team, and this is the first time I've beaten them since I've been on varsity," Jackson said. "It feels good to beat Easton. They've had success all through the years."

Senior guard Jarrod Dilts chipped in with 10 points for Freedom. Reserve guard Tajmire Flood contributed nine rebounds, point guard Jordan Young dished out six assists and forward Derike Chiclana recorded five of the Patriots' 12 blocked shots.

"That's what's nice about this team," Freedom coach Joe Stellato said. "If you cover Lococo we have Jackson. If you cover Jackson we have Dilts. You have to pick your poison."

Freedom never trailed and led by as much as 48-32 midway into the fourth quarter. The Red Rovers (2-2, 0-1) scored the next eight points before the Patriots went on a 5-0 run to close the game.

"They're a better team than us right now," Easton coach Jim Hutnik said. "They're strong and athletic. Our kids hung in there and played hard. We didn't play smart at times, but I can't fault the effort."

Jackson had the hot hand early, scoring the Patriots' first six points on a pair of 3-pointers. He connected on all four of his 3-point attempts and shot 7-for-10 overall.

"(Jackson) is a good shooter," Stellato said. "He also has a very nice soft touch inside, and he didn't even use that part of his game tonight. He's that good of a player."

"It was going in so I tried to stay aggressive and keep attacking," Jackson said.

Freedom shot a torrid 7 of 9 from 3-point range and was an impressive 20-for-33 (60.8 percent) overall.

Jackson opened the second quarter with his third 3-pointer and hit another from downtown early in the third quarter. The latter gave the Patriots a 33-21 lead.

"(Jackson) forced us to change some things (defensively)," Hutnik said. "Every time we got an important stop we'd turn the ball over. We did some dumb things offensively. We're just not there yet. We don't recognize what we need to do in order to score points."

Center Ryan Walsh paced Easton with 14 points and nine rebounds. Swingman Lincoln Holley added 11 points despite shooting 1-for-11 from the floor.

"This was definitely a statement game," Stellato said. "We played the way we're capable tonight. That's what you have to do on a consistent basis to win in this league."

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/sports/index.ssf/2011/12/freedom_high_school_boys_baske_2.html