Freeport plays on

By DEREK PYDA Eagle Staff Writer

February 19, 2007 Last Updated: February 19, 2007 01:27 PM High School

Freeport's Jordan Dunn trying to keep control under presure from Shady Side's Katherine Sheerer (5) and Kelsey Olander (11) in their WPIAL Class AA playoff game on Saturday.

Yellowjacket boys survive S.F., 59-56

MUNHALL — Everything seemed to be going against the Freeport boys basketball team.

Senior forward Cory Massart had been lost to an injured left ankle.

Calls that could've gone either way were being ruled in South Fayette's favor.

And the Yellowjackets faced a 40-29, third-quarter deficit.

Freeport's players appeared to be walking out the door of the WPIAL Class AA playoffs, but they came out the other side owners of a 59-56 first-round victory at Steel Valley High School on Saturday.

Brian Zimmerman's two free throws with 18.7 seconds left gave the Yellowjackets their first lead of the second half at 58-56.

Brady Sherrieb added another point from the charity stripe and a desperation heave from South Fayette's Nick Zedreck was off the mark as Freeport advanced to play Beaver Falls in the second round at 8 p.m. Tuesday at Fox Chapel High School.

"Our guys just kept chipping away and chipping away," said Freeport coach Mike Beale. "I'm just so proud of them."

As calls earlier in the game benefitted South Fayette, those made late in the game seemed to favor Freeport.

"Freeport is good, but I feel we are the better team," said Lions' coach Rich Bonnaure. "I don't feel bad for me, I feel bad for our seniors."

Massart, who was playing his first game since injuring his left ankle against East Allegheny on Jan. 30, reinjured it early in the third quarter after attempting a jump shot.

He had scored nine points in the second quarter to keep the Yellowjackets within reach.

"Cory brings a lot of emotion and energy to the team," said Beale. "When he went down, I turned to the captains we had on the floor — Nate Kotecki, Brady Sherrieb and Brian Zimmerman. And they simply weren't going to let us lose."

And all three played a big part in Freeport's comeback.

Sherrieb scored nine of his 13 points in the fourth quarter, including a conventional 3-point play that cut the Lions' lead to 52-50 with 3:54 left in the game.

Bookending Sherrieb's three points were two field goals by Kotecki, the first cut the Lions' lead to 52-47 and the second one tied the score at 52.

And Zimmerman's lone points of the period put the Yellowjackets (13-8) up for good.

"Earlier this year, we were down by two points late against Knoch and I hit two free throws," said Zimmerman. "So, my nerves weren't too bad. I've hit big free throws before."

But none as big as the two he drained in the waning seconds on Saturday.

South Fayette entered the fourth period with a 42-40 lead.

The team then looked to Sean McElhinny for points.

The senior forward had scored 12 points in the first three quarters and tallied eight of the Lions' first 10 points in the final eight minutes.

Points in the paint seemed to be there for the taking whenever South Fayette wanted them.

Then, with under five minutes left in the game, McElhinny fouled out on a questionable call. His 20 points led all scorers.

"When he fouled out, they became a perimeter team," said Beale. "And we just cut off their passing lanes."

The Lions (14-10) scored just four points in the last five minutes of the game.Shady Side Academy 52, Freeport (girls) 22Trailing by nine points early in the third quarter, Freeport's offense went into a deep freeze at the worst possible time.Shady Side Academy turned a 25-16 lead into a 36-16 edge with 4:15 left in the third period en route to a WPIAL Class AA first-round win.Freeport made just one of 15 field goal attempts in the second half — a 3-pointer from Stephanie Clowes mid-way through the third quarter.In fact, the Yellowjackets (7-15) managed just six field goals in the game, but were able to stay within reach of the Indians in the first half, trailing by 10 points at intermission (25-15)."We knew it was important to get second shots on the offensive end, get some rebounds," said Freeport coach Kevin Smetak. "But we came out a little slow."Still, I was satisfied with our performance, being down 10 points at halftime. Shady Side made a run in the third quarter and things just extended from there."Samantha Campbell led Freeport with seven points.Shady Side Academy's Raediah Lyles led all scorers with 14 points while Katie Sheerer added 12 points for the Indians (18-7)."We played a very good opponent today," said Smetak. "I told the girls that after the first half of section games this season, we had just one win. Not many people expected us to be here."Boys BoxscoreSOUTH FAYETTE 56Joe Silko 5 0-0 12, Nick Zedreck 4 2-3 10, Steve Opar 3 0-1 8, Sean McElhinny 10 0-2 20, Zach Patterson 3 0-0 6, Derek Anderson 0 0-2 0, Jim Kirker 0 0-0 0, Dillon Sauers 0 0-0 0. Totals: 25 2-8 56.FREEPORT 59Nate Kotecki 4 2-2 10, Cory Massart 3 2-2 9, Chris Tagmyer 2 2-4 7, Brian Zimmerman 3 6-8 12, Justin Bollinger 4 0-1 8, Brady Sherrieb 5 2-5 13. Totals: 21 14-22 59. South Fayette 16 16 10 14—56Freeport 13 11 16 19—593-point goals: South Fayette 4 (Silko 2, Opar 2); Freeport 3 (Sherrieb, Massart, Tagmyer)Tuesday: Freeport vs. Beaver Falls, 8 p.m. @ Fox ChapelGirls BoxscoreFREEPORT 22Kirsten Almquist 1 0-0 2, Jordan Dunn 2 0-1 5, Samantha Campbell 1 5-10 7, Stephanie Clowes 2 0-0 6, Cassie Smolic 0 2-2 2, Erica Carnahan 0 0-0 0, Jessica Fair 0 0-0 0, Courtney Chelecki 0 0-0 0, Kayla Eckman 0 0-0 0, Kyrene Haynes 0 0-0 0, Amber Elder 0 0-0 0. Totals: 6 7-13 22.SHADY SIDE ACADEMY 52Laura Daigneau 2 0-0 5, Katie Sheerer 4 1-5 12, Yanna Cox-Taylor 1 1-2 3, Kelsey Olander 4 3-4 11, Maria Macpherson 2 1-2 5, Jenny Briston 0 2-2 2, Raediah Lyles 6 2-2 14, Nia Phillips 0 0-0 0, Hannah Foster 0 0-0 0. Totals: 19 10-17 52.Freeport 4 11 4 3—22Shady Side Acad. 13 12 13 14—523-point goals: Shady Side Academy 4 (Sheerer 3, Daigneau); Freeport 3 (Clowes 2, Dunn)