JOHNSTOWN - Brent Ferko had a daunting task in trying to slow down North Star's Drew Shubik in Saturday's first-round PIAA Class AA boys basketball playoff game.

As it turned out, Ferko was successful in his mission - and his 25 points on the offensive end didn't hurt, either.

Ferko, along with his Freeport teammates, held Shubik to just five points through three quarters as the Yellowjackets built a 21-point lead in that span and held on for a 70-60 victory against the Cougars at Pitt-Johnstown's Sports Center.

Shubik, a 6-foot-4 senior point guard who entered the contest averaging 25 points a game, did finish with 26 points, 21 coming in the fourth quarter, but the game was already out of reach.

"Brent did a nice job," said Freeport coach Garrie Davies. "You could see in the fourth quarter that (Shubik) could score. I thought the key would be that he not take over.

"Even at the end of the game, if you get him to pass it, that takes away seconds from the game," Davies added.

"He's a great player," said Ferko. "Whenever he passes, you have to stay on him and hopes he doesn't get it back."

Ferko, who is averaging 24.7 points in three post-season games, was also a force offensively, scoring 12 points in the first half, 13 in the second.

"They've got some studs in there and they can penetrate and dish it back," said North Star coach Andy Shubik. "Ferko is explosive. We knew that from AAU basketball.

"We needed to do a much better job on him," Shubik added.

The Yellowjackets (16-5) used a 7-0 run early to take a 9-2 lead and would open up a 22-14 lead after one quarter.

"That was a key because Shubik is such a great shooter," said Ferko, "you want to get a seven- or eight-point lead so if he hits a 3-pointer, it won't hurt you as much."

While Ferko had six of those points, Chris Plocki contributed eight points and Chuck Chelecki added five.

"Their biggest players are in the perimeter," said Davies. "We thought we could go inside. We tried to get Chuck in there and it worked out.

"Chris is having a nice year and he's not afraid to step up," Davies added.

The Cougars (23-5) did open the second quarter with consecutive baskets by Nick Mignogna and John Hornick to pull to within four points, but the Yellowjackets scored the next 11 - highlighted by a 3-pointer and basket from David Bauman - for a 33-18 lead with 4:22 before halftime.

North Star countered with two baskets by Josh Ryan and another from Ryan Druist to pull within eight, but never came any closer the rest of the game.

In the second half, Freeport led 41-30 before it scored the next seven points to start a 12-2 run and close out the quarter with a 53-32 advantage.

That's when Shubik began to shine, scoring the Cougars' next 18 points, including eight in a row that helped the squad pull to 64-50 with 2:05 remaining.

"They were pinching him and shadowing him," said coach Shubik on Drew's early-game production.

"They had 1½ guys on him. That's fine if we're getting it inside. He had a few assists early. When we have to depend on him for scoring in big bunches, we're in trouble," he added.

Freeport held a 70-54 lead before Shubik and Druist sank 3-pointers in the final 14 seconds to close out the scoring.

Freeport did have to overcome foul trouble as Plocki picked up his third foul with 4:32 left before halftime. Chelecki was hit with his third and fourth fouls within nine seconds midway through the third quarter. Luke Westerman fouled out in the fourth quarter.

That gave Adam Isenberg, Bill Giesler and Brian Zimmerman some quality minutes off the bench.

"We had the match-ups on the board," said Davies. "I said before the game they have to be students, to know what's going on out there. They didn't miss a beat."

Along with Ferko, Freeport also received 15 points apiece from Bauman and Plocki and nine from Chelecki. The Cougars had 11 from Hornick and 10 from Mignogna.

The Yellowjackets will now meet Shenango - a winner over Moshannon Valley 65-48 Saturday - on Wednesday at a site and time to be determined.

Notes:

Freeport has reached the state playoffs three times and has not advanced past the second round. The last time it reached the second round was the 1997-98 season.

FREEPORT 70

Brent Ferko 12 1-2 25, Luke Westerman 1 0-0 2, David Bauman 4 4-4 15, Chuck Chelecki 3 2-3 9, Chris Plocki 6 3-4 15, Adam Isenberg 0 0-0 0, Bill Giesler 2 0-0 4, Brian Zimmerman 0 0-0 0, Ian Kaminski 0 0-0 0, Tim Mackowski 0 0-0 0. Totals: 28 10-13 70.

NORTH STAR 60

Ryan Druist 2 0-0 5, Josh Neri 1 1-2 4, Drew Shubik 6 12-13 26, John Hornick 4 3-7 11, Nick Mignogna 5 0-0 10, Jon Shank 0 0-0 0, Josh Ryan 2 0-0 4. Totals: 20 16-22 60.

3-point goals:

Bauman 3, Chelecki; Shubik 2, Druist, Neri

Wednesday:

PIAA second round-Freeport vs. Shenango, site and time TBA