MONROEVILLE — Freeport put a scare into Washington, but the Prexies didn't flinch when it mattered most.

The Yellowjackets erased a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to force overtime, but the Washington scored the five first points in overtime and held on for a 50-47 victory in a WPIAL Class AA boys basketball quarterfinal game Wednesday at Gateway High.

"That's what happened all year," said Freeport coach Garrie Davies on the comeback. "We felt like we could wear teams down all year."

In overtime, Washington had a free throw from Troy Wilson to open the scoring, but the bigger blow was that Freeport senior center Darius Frantz fouled out.

Frantz was one of three Freeport starters with four fouls entering overtime and Prexies coach Mark Gaither knew it.

"We wanted to attack that," said Gaither, who is in his first season at the helm following Ron Faust's 28 years. "Our point guard was in foul trouble, too, but we knew their guns had fouls."

Marquis Brown and Zach Barnes each followed with scores in a 27-second span to give Washington its five-point lead.

Alex Isenberg sank two free throws for Freeport (15-3) before Barnes scored again, this time with 1:28 to play.

The Yellowjackets' Shawn Liberto, who came off the bench to tie Isenberg with a game-high 14 points, connected on a three-point play with 55.3 remaining to make it a two-point game.

Wilson countered with two free throws, then Isenberg scored with 19.1 seconds to make it 49-47.

Washington's Julien Anderson was fouled and made 1-of-2 free throws for what would be the final points of the game.

Isenberg, unable to get a good look for a 3-pointer, dished the ball inside to Don Pastoria, who missed a pair of contested shots underneath.

The ball bounced back to Isenberg outside the 3-point line, but his off-balance shot fell short.

"This was a good pressure defense. It was good for us to see," Gaither said about Freeport. "This was a game where the scorers didn't get a lot of balls. We had to go through the grind and get a W."

Washington (18-4) held a 10-point lead with 6:31 to play in regulation when the Yellowjackets made their comeback.

Liberto took a rebound on the defensive end and drove for a score, then Isenberg added a 3-pointer to make it five-point game.

With the score 37-30 with 3:13 to play, Freeport scored the next five points. Two free throws by Liberto, a driving layup and a free throw by Isenberg made it 37-35.

Brown hit 2-of-4 free throws to make it 40-35 with 1;32 to play before Liberto drained a 3-pointer with 1:17 to go and Frantz had a layup with 46 seconds to tie the game at 40.

"We're not the biggest team," said Davies, "but we wanted to be able to pass the ball and rebound. We were able to have five men rebound. Our guards helped out."

Washington worked the clock down using three timeouts, the latter with 1.6 seconds, but its shot off the inbounds pass hit the rim and bounced away.

"(Freeport) hit some big shots. They hit some 3s" said Gaither. "They weren't 12-0 in their section for nothing. They did not lay down and die."

Notes: Frantz had nine rebounds and five blocks while Campbell added 10 points, eight rebounds and two steals, and Isenberg had six rebounds, six assists and three steals.

FREEPORT 47Nick Gentile 1 0-0 2, Tyler Collins 0 0-0 0, Darius Frantz 3 1-4 7, Alex Isenberg 4 5-9 14, Jake Campbell 4 0-0 10, Shawn Liberto 5 3-3 14, Derek Durand 0 0-0 0, Don Pastoria 0 0-0 0.

Totals: 17 9-16 47.

WASHINGTON 50Zach Barnes 4 0-0 8, Marquis Brown 4 4-10 12, Troy Wilson 3 4-7 10, Bryan Thomas 3 0-1 6, Julien Anderson 2 3-6 7, Ethan Gordon 2 0-0 5, Josh Wise 0 0-0 0, Walter Paskert 1 0-0 2.

Totals: 19 11-24 50.

Freeport 7 7 10 16 7—47Washington 10 5 17 8 10—503-point goals: Freeport 4 (Campbell 2, Isenberg, Liberto); Washington 1 (Gordon).