PITTSBURGH - Sto-Rox coach Bill Minear had a plan to take away Freeport's strong outside shooting Saturday.

In the process, it knocked the Yellowjackets out of the PIAA playoffs.

Leading 18-14 early in the second quarter, the Vikings scored 14 of the next 16 points and cruised to a 66-44 victory in the PIAA Class AA boys basketball quarterfinal game at Duquesne University's A.J. Palumbo Center.

"We talked about not giving up the 3's early," said Minear. "We've had a lull in some quarters, but we did pretty well in the first three quarters.

"That was the goal going in, to make them penetrate and that's not their game. They're a great team. They hustle," Minear added.

Freeport (18-7) had just two 3-pointers - both by Dave Bauman - but the Vikings (25-3) benefited from 6-foot-3 forward John Geiger, who sank four treys, all in the first half.

"He's had five in a couple of different games," said Minear. "We use him like that."

"Sto-Rox was so poised," said Freeport coach Garrie Davies. "That's the thing you think of first. They were so conscious of what we were doing.

"We missed some shots early. (Six-foot-7 forward Davon) Huger influenced some shots. We had to make those shots early," Davies added.

An 8-2 spurt helped the Vikings race out to a 16-8 lead before Brent Ferko and Luke Westerman scored to make it a four-point contest with 43 seconds left in the first quarter.

After the teams exchanged baskets, the Vikings received scores from Geiger and 6-foot-4 forward Mike Harper to take a 22-14 lead.

"There were a couple of times we ran the trap and (Geiger) got open looks," said Davies. "But, he shoots well and that's something that helped them maintain their success."

Ferko's jumper cut the deficit to six points before Sto-Rox scored the next 10 points -capped by a 3-point play by Huger - to take a 32-16 lead with 3:03 left before halftime.

The Vikings led 35-21 before Harper and Geiger scored to close out the first half. Sto-Rox opened the third quarter by scoring the first eight points to take a 47-21 lead with 5:38 left.

Chuck Chelecki scored consecutive baskets and Bauman added another score to trim the margin to 20, but the Vikings scored the next eight points and 12 of 14 to put the game out of reach.

"I think our size was a real advantage," said Minear. "We knew Bauman was going to a Division I school (Albany) and that pumped us up."

Geiger led all scorers with 18 points, while Huger added 15 points and Harper 13.

Freeport received 14 from Bauman, 11 from Chelecki and 10 from Ferko.

It was the last game for the aforementioned trio as well as Westerman, Adam Isenberg and Bill Giesler.

They wrapped up their high school careers leading the Yellowjackets' to their most successful season as far as the state playoffs are concerned.

"This reminds you of the impact of what they did, not being the biggest team, but having the right blend of people," Davies said.

"I've had these guys since the fourth grade. It's emotional. What they did was amazing," he added."

Notes:

The mercy rule was in effect for the fourth quarter … The Yellowjackets had a 9-0 run late in the game, which helped them close out the game on a 12-2 run … Freeport limited guard Adam DiMichele, a 1,000-point scorer, to just four points.

FREEPORT 44

Brent Ferko 5 0-0 10, Luke Westerman 3 0-0 6, Dave Bauman 5 2-2 14, Chuck Chelecki 5 1-2 11, Chris Plocki 0 0-0 0, Adam Isenberg 0 0-0 0, Bill Giesler 0 0-0 0, Tim Mackowski 1 0-0 3, Brian Zimmerman 0 0-0 0, Ian Kaminski 0 0-0 0. Totals: 19 3-4 44.

STO-ROX 66

Davon Huger 7 1-1 15, Louie Parrilla 1 0-0 3, Adam DiMichele 1 2-4 4, John Geiger 7 0-0 18, Mike Harper 5 3-4 13, Chuck Banks 1 0-0 2, Tyrone Cole 3 1-1 7, John Harvey 0 0-0 0, Nick Pappaterra 0 0-0 0, Brendan Gallagher 0 0-0 0, Aaron Adams 1 0-1 2, Anthony DiMichele 1 0-0 2. Totals: 27 7-11 66.

3-point goals:

Bauman 2, Mackowski; Geiger 4, Parrilla