PORTLAND—Freeport’s boys’ basketball team wasn’t worried about its late season skid.
The Falcons were instead, focused on making history when they took the Portland Exposition Building floor Saturday evening in the Class A South quarterfinals.
Fourth-ranked Freeport, which dropped three of its final four regular season games, including one to Kennebunk, met the fifth-seeded Rams and came out sizzling before embarking on a third quarter run that was more than enough to send it somewhere it hasn’t been in 16 years.
The semifinals.
The Falcons led almost the entire first half, held a 15-11 advantage after one period, then rode a 10-0 second quarter run to a 28-27 lead at the break.
Kennebunk then scored the first four points of the second half before Freeport exploded from the outside, making four 3-pointers, including one from junior Conner Smith just before the horn, to cap a dizzying 20-2 run which produced a 48-33 lead.
The Falcons went up by as many as 18 points, 58-40, in the fourth period before the Rams made things interesting, pulling within eight inside the final minute, but two free throws from senior standout JT Pound slammed the door and produced a 64-54 victory.
Pound led the way with 24 points, Smith added 15 and Freeport won a quarterfinal round game for the first time since 2008, improved to 15-4, advanced to take on top-ranked Gray-New Gloucester (17-2) in the semifinals Wednesday at 7:45 p.m., at the Expo, and in the process, ended Kennebunk’s campaign at 11-8.
“I’m so proud,” said Falcons coach Tyler Tracy. “They’re not just great basketball players, but really likable kids. This is a really tough group. They’ve bought in and they believe in each other. Kennebunk’s a very good, well-coached team, but we showed our toughness tonight.”
Nothing to lose
Freeport, which missed the tournament with a 5-13 record a year ago, turned last season’s close losses into victories and posted the program’s best record since the 2007-08 season, starting the year on a 12-2 tear before dropping three of its final four games to wind up fourth in the region.
Despite the struggles down the stretch, the Falcons’ faith didn’t waver.
“We stayed confident,” Smith said. “Even though we lost at the end, it didn’t take a hit to our confidence.”
“We didn’t have our bye until late and our schedule was really, really difficult at the end,” Tracy said. “We played Kennebunk, Brunswick, who was playing really well at the end, then Gray and Falmouth, the 1 and 2 seeds. Having a week-and-a-half has been nice to tidy up some loose ends and get back to who we are and what our focus is.”
Kennebunk, meanwhile, was just the opposite, starting the year 3-4 before rattling off seven consecutive wins to move up the ladder.
The teams met Jan. 25 in Kennebunk, where the Rams rolled to a 62-41 victory behind 21 points from junior Theo Pow. Senior Will Maneikis led the Falcons with 12 points, while Pound added 10.
The teams had never before played in the tournament.
Saturday, in front of a loud and vocal crowd, Freeport started strong, which gave it confidence, then made more big plays in the second half to go on to victory.
Freeport senior JT Pound defends the drive of Kennebunk sophomore Sammy Murray during the Falcons’ 64-54 victory Saturday. Hoffer photos.
Just 47 seconds in, Freeport got the jump as Maneikis got a leaner to roll in.
After a long jumper from senior Jacob Thompson pulled the Rams even, senior Connor Slocum hit a free throw, then senior Max Maneikis set up Smith for his first 3 before Pound hit a jumper to make it 8-2 three minutes in.
After junior Isaac Jensen cut the deficit in half with a 3, Smith sank another 3-ball to push the lead to 11-5.
“I couldn’t tell too much of a difference shooting here, but I like it,” said Smith. “Making the first one helped.”
“The beginning of the year, we got off to great starts,” Tracy said. “It seemed like we were up 7-2, 9-2, every game. At the end, it seemed like we were down every game. It’s nice when you hit shots early.”
After sophomore Sammy Murray scored on a putback for Kennebunk, Pound put home his own miss.
Thompson then made a free throw and senior captain George Lazos buried a 3 from the corner, but just before time expired, Max Maneikis scored on a leaner for a 15-11 advantage.
The Falcons tried to open it up on a couple occasions in the second period, but the Rams hung tough.
Pow opened the frame with a 3, but Slocum answered with one of his own.
Pow then drained back-to-back 3-pointers to give Kennebunk its first lead, 20-18, with 5:07 on the first half clock.
Seventeen seconds later, Pound tied the score with two free throws, sparking a 10-0 run.
After Slocum scored on a driving leaner, Max Maneikis took a pass from Will Maneikis and buried a 3, then Smith drained a from the corner with 3:14 remaining for a 28-20 advantage.
The Rams then closed the half on a 7-0 run, as Thompson got a contested 3 to drop, junior Cole Perkins made a layup, then a layup after a steal from Murray cut the deficit to just one, 28-27, at the break.
Smith paced Freeport with nine half points, while Pow countered with nine for Kennebunk.
The Falcons then dazzled in the third quarter.
Freeport senior Will Maneikis loses control of the ball as Kennebunk junior Cole Perkins defends.
The second half began with Perkins hitting two free throws and Perkins driving for a layup to make it 31-28 Kennebunk, but that would be the Rams’ highwater mark.
As the Falcons completely controlled the final six-plus minutes.
With 6:02 on the clock, Pound tied the score with a 3.
Thirty-eight seconds later, Slocum drove for a layup and a lead Freeport wouldn’t relinquish.
Pound then sank a 3 from up top and Kennebunk coach Paul Maguire called timeout.
It didn’t help, as Will Maneikis set up senior Cody Wall for a layup, Slocum sank a free throw, then made another with 1:23 remaining.
Seventeen seconds later, Jensen took a pass from Pow and made a layup to end a 5 minute, 23 second scoring drought, but in the final minute, Will Maneikis drove for a layup and just before the horn, Smith converted a contested 3-pointer for a 48-33 lead, capping a 20-2 run.
“We hit shots and once you get on a run, you get momentum and it’s easy to keep going and feeding your teammates,’ Smith said.
Will Maneikis started the fourth quarter with a jumper. After Pow and Pound traded 3-pointers, Lazos drove for a layup.
Slocum then scored on a putback and after Murray drove and made a layup, Pound’s 3-ball with 5:35 remaining gave Freeport its biggest lead, 58-40.
Lazos drove and made a layup with his left hand, but with 3:53 to play, Max Maneikis set up Pound for a layup to restore the 18-point advantage.
Kennebunk then got off the canvas and got back in the game.
After Pow made a free throw, Thompson buried a 3, junior Cooper Thompson knocked down a jumper, then with 2:03 to go, a putback from Perkins cut the deficit to 10 points, 60-50.
Will Maneikis then came up huge, driving for a layup with 1:29 remaining.
The Rams refused to buckle and after Lazos sank a 3 with 1:15 on the clock, a free throw from Pow 34 seconds later cut the deficit to only eight.
But Kennebunk wouldn’t score again and with 18.4 seconds left, two Pound free throws iced it and at 9 p.m., the Falcons were able to celebrate their historic 64-54 victory.
Freeport celebrates at the final horn.
“We played well as a team,” said Pound. “Our coaches helped us a lot and they’ve gotten us here. We learned from last game when we played (Kennebunk). This game was important to come out fast and hit some shots. We had to call a few timeouts to get it back together, but we just kept passing the ball up the court and got the win.”
“We had to just play at our pace and get the ball into the paint,” said Tracy. “We play so well when we can play inside-out. We talked about momentum. We handled the pressure well, then we had some bad possessions and it snowballed and we were panicking, but we got defensive stops. We had just enough to hold on.”
Pound excelled with a game-high 22 points, 10 rebounds and two blocked shots.
Smith hit five 3s and wound up with 15 points, while Slocum also was a double figure scorer with 12 points (to go with five rebounds and four assists).
Will Maneikis contributed eight points, six rebounds and two assists, Max Maneikis had five points, seven assists and three rebounds and Wall finished with two points.
“We talk about having to be a team,” said Tracy. “We have to have five guys on the same page. JT is one of the best players in the state, but when teams send two or three guys at him, we have other guys who can make shots.”
The Falcons made 11 3-pointers to the Rams’ nine, enjoyed a big 34-19 advantage on the glass and overcame 7-of-17 foul shooting and 19 turnovers, including 10 in the fourth period.
Kennebunk was led by Pow, who had 14 points, five rebounds and three steals. Lazos also wound up in double figures with 10 points, go with four rebounds.
Jacob Thompson had nine points, Perkins eight, Murray six, Jensen five and Cooper Thompson two.
The Rams only turned the ball over nine times and made 5-of-9 free throws.
Patriots Day
Freeport lost at home to Gray-New Gloucester, 64-56, Feb. 2. The Patriots gradually pulled away from No. 8 Fryeburg Academy to win their quarterfinal, 69-52, Saturday.
Freeport and Gray-New Gloucester have no postseason history.
They’re about to make some and the Falcons believe they can keep the good times rolling.
“If we keep playing together, we can keep going,” said Pound. “It’s going to be fun.”
“Anyone we play is going to be good,” said Smith. “We just have to keep playing hard and having fun.”
“We’ll just head into practice and work on the game plan,” added Tracy. “We want the guys to be fresh and sharp. It’s tournament week, so they’ll be amped up.”
Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. For game updates and links to game stories, follow him on Threads: @foresports2023
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