MODESTO, CA - Senior guard Andrew Mork led the way for the Freedom offense, finishing with 29 points, including 18 of them in the second half, to help lift Freedom to a 71-60 non-league victory over Modesto on the opening day of the Modesto Christian Tournament.
"We weren't as strong as we should of been on the defensive side of the floor," said Mork.
Freedom (10-0) would lead throughout the whole game until the third quarter, when they slowed down offensively, as Modesto would close the quarter on a 10-4 run, with six of those points coming from junior guard Qimmoni Myer, who finished with a team-high 20 points, to help give the Panthers a 42-41 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Freedom responded in the fourth quarter, going on a 9-0 run to start the fourth, with seven of those points coming from Mork. Jared Stokes would also make some big shots in the quarter, hitting a key three and a 15-foot jumper to help seal the deal for the Falcons. Freedom broke loose for 30 points in the final eight minutes.
"The fourth quarter we finally woke up and played our brand of basketball and sealed the deal," said Mork.
Freedom started fast in the first quarter, going on a 9-2 run to start the game, with six of those points from Bailey Jones. But Modesto (4-4) closed the quarter on a 6-0 run, including two layups by senior Markus Brady, to cut the Freedom lead to only 19-15 heading into the second quarter.
Freedom would start the second quarter on a 9-0 run, including two layups by sophomore Trevon O'Neal. Modesto would respond again, as they would go on a 6-0 run to close the second quarter, to cut Freedom's lead to 37-32.
"I feel like the team played well," said Stokes, who finished with 16 points. "We made them turn the ball over a lot, which helped us get easy transition points."
Freedom moved on to the next round in the Modesto Christian holiday hoop classic, and play Salesian on Wednesday at 3 pm, in a battle of teams both ranked among the top four in the North Coast Section. Modesto will move to the losers bracket, where they will play Berkeley on Wednesday at 9 am.
