The boys’ basketball team has eagerly fought through the beginning of the season, and they haven’t shown any intention of going down without a fight.

On Dec. 18, 2015 the boys dribbled their way through a tough game. The Bulldogs were in a full court press, but the Quips still had a headstart on the scoreboard, closing the first quarter with a 13 point lead. After fighting hard, they lost to the Aliquippa Quips with a final score of 73-38. On Jan. 5, 2016 the boys played a game at home against the Avonworth Antelopes where Avonworth defeated the Bulldogs with a final score of 79-42.
“We shouldn’t have lost to teams like Northgate and South Side. I think we didn’t play hard enough in the beginning of the game or we just let them in and we couldn’t keep up with it,” Junior Avery Sayre said.
The boys’ team practices around 5-6 times per week during the season. They practice shooting, ball handling and communication skills.

“I think when we play teams like South Side and Northgate we’ll win. We have to make sure we play well in the beginning and don’t let them get the ball,” Sayre said.

Although basketball is certainly a rush, and requires intense athletic skill, it’s not all in the plays and the score. Sometimes it’s the memories you create that makes playing the game worth
it.

In the Jan. 12 home game versus Quaker Valley, Senior Hunter Giles scored his first varsity points of his career.
“I didn’t expect to get the ball at all, but when I did and scored, I was so proud of myself and my team and the crowd was going crazy!” Giles said.

Due to this great achievement, Giles was given the honor of taking home the official game ball.
“I had tears in my eyes because I was so happy to get the ball for making that layup. I feel very proud!” Giles said.

It’s the little memories that athletes remember, as Giles clearly shows. These memories are not only based on the games played, but also the coaches, teammates, referees and rivals create them as well. While old memories will always be treasured, making new memories can be even better.
The team was scheduled to play Northgate at home on Jan. 19, but the game got postponed due to winter weather. The boys played a home game versus Carlynton on Jan. 20. The Bulldogs kicked off the game with a three pointer and a basket in the first two offensive plays. Throughout the game the team focused on ball movement, setting up plays and strong defense. Head coach Greg Cercone animatedly directed the boys, continuously coaching them on their positions and play-set up.

“We knew that we had a good match up. The goal was to play with a lot of energy and effort. We had it in our heads that we were going to pass up a good shot to get a great one,” Senior Erich Borgman said.
To close the first quarter, Sophomore Santino Guandolo brought the ball down the court, running the clock. A Carlynton defender knocked the ball out of bounds, but it was inbounded back to Guandolo. He drove to the basket, dropping the ball to Junior Nick Henderson, who shot the last two points of the quarter, pulling the Bulldogs farther ahead in the score of 13-8.

During the third quarter, Carlynton pulled a five point lead, stealing the ball during Freedom’s offensive passing plays and making the score 27-32 at the end of the third quarter.

To start off the fourth quarter, Sophomore Nych Baker passed the ball in bounds to Senior
Evin DiCiero, who was perfectly positioned under the basket and scored Freedom two points. Freedom continued to give a strong performance throughout the quarter. Guandolo recovered a runaway ball and was fouled on a successful breakaway layup. He made his foul shot, earning Freedom a total of three points in the play. DiCiero dove and recovered the ball later in the quarter, passing to Junior Nick Henderson from the ground, without traveling. Henderson was fouled by Carlynton during this play and made his first foul shot, missing the second. These plays, in addition to the rest of the team’s efforts, took the score to 33-34 Carlynton. After both teams struggled for possession and baskets, Junior Zach Greene sunk a three point shot, finally recovering the lead on the scoreboard at 36-34 Freedom. In the last minute of the game Carlynton scored four points, taking the score back at 36-38. Greene was fouled while attempting a three point shot, which got him three foul shots, which he made two of, tying the game at 38 and leading into over time.

Henderson started over time with successful layups in the first two minutes, making the score 42-40 Freedom.
“One specific moment in the game I look to in this game would be the first two possessions in overtime because those were the two most important and we scored on both and got defensive stops each time which I feel gave us a great opportunity to win and we finished strong after that,” Guandolo said.

Greene rebounded the ball after a missed foul shot by Carlyton and made a breakaway layup. Between Carlynton scoring and Greene and Henderson scoring their foul shots, the score was 50-47 in favor of Freedom with one second left in the game. Henderson was fouled and made both shots, ending the game with a final score of 52-47 Freedom.