FREEPORT — Hands in his face?

No problem.

Bodies smashing into him from the left, from the right, from the back and from the front?

So what?

To Rob Briggs, none of that mattered.

The Knoch junior scored 26 tough points to help the Knights boys basketball team to a 63-55 win over rival Freeport in the championship game of the Yellowjackets' holiday tournament Friday night.

"I'm pretty much used to it," said Briggs of the constant banging he endures during games. "I just have to remember to keep my head out there and not get flustered."

Freeport was determined to make Briggs and the Knights work for their points, and it succeeded.

Only the Yellowjackets didn't plan on Briggs shooting so well with hands and arms in his face.

"We knew exactly what he was going to do," said Freeport coach Mike Beale, who watched Briggs score 30 points the last time the two teams squared off Dec. 12. "He just hit big shots for them."

Briggs, who was named the MVP of the tournament, also had 14 rebounds, five of them on the offensive glass, as Knoch held a big rebounding advantage.

The 6-foot-5 forward also showed his range, hitting three 3-pointers.

"He's a pretty complete player right now," said Knoch coach Chris Andreassi. "Outside of one game, the first game against Leechburg, he's been there every time we've needed a big shot."

Briggs said he owes his outside shooting touch to his two brothers, Andy and Wes, and some former Knoch players, such as Cliff Foster, who have worked with him on his game.

He prefers life in the paint, though.

"I like to stay in the post," Briggs said. "That's where I feel the most comfortable."

Lost in Briggs' effort was that of his Freeport counterpart inside, BrianZimmerman.

The senior scored 22 points and had 11 rebounds for the Yellowjackets.

"Brian plays so well," Beale said. "He loves contact — it's the football player in him. If he's fouled or not fouled, he doesn't care. He just keeps playing."

The teams showed how evenly matched they were throughout the contest.

Neither team led by more than five points until Knoch made a run — mostly from the foul line — to close the game.

There were 15 lead changes.

Knoch (8-2) grabbed the lead for good at 52-50 with 3:18 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Shawn Samek, who played sparingly in the first three quarters, was a big reason why the Knights were able to keep the lead.

He hit 7-of-8 free throws in the final quarter to keep the Yellowjackets at bay.

Freeport's comeback hopes were also hurt by poor shooting down the stretch. The Yellowjackets (6-2) missed seven consecutive field goal attempts in the final two minutes of the game before MattGiesler hit a 3-pointer with less than 10 seconds remaining to close the scoring.

"I thought we were just one shot away from turning the tide," Beale said. "But we weren't able to hit that big shot."

Andrew Wirtz added 11 points, and Alex Whisler pitched in nine points and six rebounds for Knoch.

BradySherrieb scored 12 points for Freeport, despite a poor shooting night.

Both Sherrieb and Zimmerman are averaging double-doubles this season.

The atmosphere was playofflike — something both coaches relished.

"These are the types of games and the types of places we enjoy playing," Andreassi said. "You have to enjoy playing in front of a hostile crowd."

It was also a little sweeter for Andreassi because the tournament win came on his birthday.

"He didn't want to tell us, but he did," Briggs said. "We're going to sing to him on the bus ride home."

KNOCH 63Shawn Samek 0-2 7-8 7, Mike Gallagher 0-1 0-0 0, Andrew Wirtz 3-8 3-4 11, Kyle Reiser 3-6 2-6 8, Jamie McTighe 1-6 0-0 2, Rob Briggs 11-20 1-3 26, Alex Whisler 4-8 1-5 9.

Totals: 22-51 14-26 63

FREEPORT 55Nate Kotecki 3-9 0-1 6, Cory Massart 3-5 2-2 9, Matt Giesler 1-1 0-0 3, Chris Tagmyer 0-1 3-4 3, Brian Zimmerman 9-14 4-5 22, Brady Sherrieb 3-14 5-6 12.

Totals: 19-44 14-18 55

Knoch 14 13 15 21—63Freeport 12 17 12 14—553-point goals: Wirtz 2, Briggs 3, Massart, Giesler, Sherrieb

Tuesday: Freeport at East Allegheny

Wednesday: Highlands at Knoch