The first eight minutes of Freeport’s Friday-night matchup with visitors Fryeburg proved catastrophic for the Falcons. The team trotted onto the court flat and fell behind 20-5, and despite finding a better rhythm as the game progressed, they couldn’t catch up. 63-45 Raiders in the end.

“We didn’t necessarily not have effort; they were trying,” said Freeport head coach Bill Ridge. “We didn’t have energy, which we kind of define as something different. That loose ball, that box-out, that offensive rebound, taking charge – those types of things. Fryeburg had the energy, and we didn’t.

“So the feeling right now is not necessarily frustrated, but really disappointed in ourselves, that we came out that way.”

Ethan Sclar and Jack Davenport each bucketed a two for Freeport in the early going, and Brady LaFrance added a free-throw, but those five points were all she wrote for the Falcons in the first. On the other side of the ball, Fryeburgers Ben Darling and Oscar Herras both caught fire; Darling drained three threes and a pair of frees and Herras added nine to push the Raiders way out in front, 20-5.

“We started in our zone,” Ridge said of the Falcons’ defensive strategy, “and they basically shot us out of that. We didn’t attack shooters, we didn’t make our rotations like we typically do. That wasn’t a good showing for us. That’s kind of our bread and butter, what keeps us in games, gets us wins. We were slow on everything. Couple that with (Fryeburg) shooting the lights out.”

The Falcons fell further behind in the early second, bottoming out at 35-11. But this group has bought into the idea of never folding. They did find a groove, as the break approached, and managed to keep pace with the Raiders for several minutes, even chewed a few points into their lead. At halftime, the score stood 41-21.

How can Ridge keep his boys from coming out so tepid in the future? “That’s something we just talked to the seniors about, and the captains; that’s something they’ve got to figure out,” he said. “Make sure they’re accountable for themselves and their teammates.”

“The seniors have responded well to a lot of adversity this year,” Ridge said. “They’ve kept us in games, they’ve won us a couple games, so I’m pretty confident they’re going to figure out how everyone’s accountable in warm-ups, everyone’s accountable in the locker room, and locked-in for that opening tip.”

Fryeburg rolled as far ahead as 53-23 to start the third, but Freeport then broke into a run. Matt Neilsen kicked it off, and LaFrance followed him up; Bryan Lee contributed as well, but the team still had a long way to go. 56-33, headed into the home stretch.

The Falcons posted their best performance in the fourth, tallying 12 while holding the Raiders to just seven. That five-point differential wasn’t enough, though; the beginning of the game had simply cost them too much. 63-45 the final.

“The game plan changed,” said Ridge of Freeport’s adjustments from the first half to the second. “We scrapped it. We said, ‘We’re going man-to-man, we’re playing green,’ and we said, ‘There’s 16 minutes left; we’re going to work harder than them.’”

Ridge delved into the details: “We were extending out on that pass, trying to take that first pass away, making deflections – just make something happen, pressure their guards. That kind of snowballed into better energy for us, and making those extra plays, getting some easy buckets.”

Davenport led the Falcons with nine on the night. LaFrance and Lee each added seven, and a host of other Freeporters contributed as well. The spread of that attack is no doubt a positive for the team.

Freeport slipped to 2-10 on the result. The Falcons traveled to Cape Elizabeth on Monday the 18th; they host Kennebunk on Friday the 22nd.

Freeporter Brian Lee added seven for the Falcons against visiting Fryeburg on Friday night.Freeport’s Jack Davenport collides on his way to the net with defending Raider Jahmi Seely-Brown.Freeporter Connor Dostie lofts a jumper; Raider Cody Gullikson defends.Freeporter Ethan Sclar takes to the air, with Raider Jahmi Seely-Brown in hot pursuit.Freeporter Nick Spaulding drives around a Fryeburg defender on Friday night.

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