After a few months of practice and games, the 2019-2020 boys basketball season has come to a close. This season was not an easy one for the team. Although the team came off the court with a 6-16 record, they are not letting this define them. They are putting what they learned into action and starting to prepare for next year.

“The final record was disappointing, but the team played great through the tough games. The games were really exciting though. They were all close, and the gym was packed for every game,” head coach Jeff Griffith said.

During the last leg of the season, the team faced a losing streak. On Jan. 31, the team traveled to Keystone Oaks. They put up 33 points in the first half, but ended up falling 75-70. Freedom hosted Avonworth on Feb. 4 but lost with a final score of 75-69.

Feb. 5 was senior night for the Bulldogs. To commemorate the occasion, the student section wore a “construction” theme. The crowd was decked out in their favorite reflective safety apparel and hard hats, mimicking construction workers. After an intense, back-and-forth final quarter, the team fell with a heart-stopping score of 58-57.

Lastly, Freedom played their final game at Western Beaver. There, junior Cole Beck led the team, scoring 15 points. In the end, the Bulldogs came home with a 73-63 loss.

In the wake of these disappointing losses, the team is keeping their heads held high.

“I think we learned that we can play with the teams in our section and be successful. What our record doesn’t show was how close we were in each game,” Beck said.

What the record does not show is that for more than half of the team’s losses, the Bulldogs were trailing by 10 points or less. This made for exciting games that kept spectators on the edge of their seats.

In the meantime, the current underclassmen are ready to step in and take the reigns. Beck, Reiker Welling and Zane Metzgar have had positions on the starting lineup. Additionally, Paul Thompson, Carter Huggins and Carter Slowinski have all seen varsity playing time.

“We really need to dedicate ourselves this summer,” Beck said.

Handing off the torch this year are departing seniors Tyler Mohrbacher, Casey Collins, Maxwell Ujhaxy, Noah Spanos, Tyler Borgman and Bryan Hill.

Overall, the boys basketball team’s grit was not reflected in the scores. Although the team missed the playoffs this year, the team is looking forward to bouncing back and scoring a great record next season.