JEFFERSON TWP — Josh Beale didn't want to let his senior teammates down.

So when the Freeport junior forward found himself with the ball in his hands at the top of the key with down by a point with the seconds ticking away on the game and the season, Beale was determined to deliver.

He drove the lane, scored and was fouled, pumping his fist on the baseline as the Freeport fans screamed.

Beale converted the free throw to give the Yellowjackets a two-point lead with eight seconds remaining and it held up against two Knoch attempts to tie it as Freeport closed out its season with a 49-47 road win over the Knights Friday night.

“These seniors had never beaten Knoch,” Beale said of the quartet of Codey Digiacobbe, Chad Hildebrand, Marshall McCormick and Jon Wise. “Seventh through 12th grade, they had never beaten Knoch, so I figured there was no bigger time to get the W than tonight.”

Freeport (13-9, 6-8), closed out of the WPIAL playoffs, treated this as its postseason game.

The Yellowjackets played like it almost from the opening tip. They led 17-11 at the end of the first quarter and had a 10-point lead late in the first half.

Knoch (12-9, 8-6), however, chipped away at the lead in the second half and finally overtook Freeport at 47-46 with 31 seconds remaining.

That set up the heroic final seconds for Beale, who finished with 18 points.

His father and Freeport coach Mike Beale, was emotional when talking about his team and the way they closed the season.

“Honestly, we've been playing better and better as the season has gone along,” Mike Beale said. “We just ran out of time and games. If we could play more games, I'd schedule them.

“The kids just laid it out on the line tonight,” the coach added. “My seniors are in there crying.”

One of the seniors, Wise, had a big impact on the outcome.

Wise had two huge baskets, including one at the third-quarter buzzer on a put-back, that kept Knoch at bay.

It was another buzzer-beater, this one by Knoch's Aiden Albert at the end of the half, that looked to be the biggest shot of the game before Josh Beale's drive.

Albert nailed a 3-pointer from nearly half court at the end of the second quarter that sent the Knights into the locker room down by seven instead of 10.

Albert finished with 16 points for Knoch.

“That's the second time he's done that this year,” said Knoch coach Ron McNabb. “He has a knack of making those shots. I was really hoping he could pull another one out there at the end of the game.”

Instead his drive to the hoop with less than five seconds remaining was denied. Troy Hixson gathered the rebound for Knoch, but his desperation shot also missed as time ran out.

Despite the loss, the Knights are still the third-place team out of Section 1-AAA.

And playoff bound.

Knoch will play at Ford City Monday and will find out Tuesday the identity of its WPIAL opponent.

FREEPORT 49

Mason Eddinger 3-7 4-6 10, Kevin Lynch 0-1 0-0 0, Kris Keppel 3-7 4-4 11, Marshall McCormick 1-2 0-0 2, Brandon Hochbein 0-0 0-0 0, Codey Digiacobbe 2-6 0-2 4, Josh Beale 5-12 6-9 18, Jon Wise 2-2 0-0 4. Totals: 16-37 14-21 49.

KNOCH 47

Aiden Albert 5-10 2-2 16, Troy Hixson 1-6 2-2 5, Matt Zanella 3-10 1-1 7, Mac Christy 1-1 0-0 2, Jackson McKee 3-9 2-2 9, PJ Gourley 1-1 0-0 2, Devin Campbell 2-6 0-0 6. Totals: 16-43 7-7 47.

Freeport 17 11 8 13 — 49

Knoch11 10 11 15 — 47

3-point goals: Freeport 3 (Keppel, Beale 2); Knoch 8 (Albert 4, Hixson, Campbell 2, McKee)

JV: Freeport 46-23

Monday: Knoch at Ford City