Crespi Settles Into Second After Surviving Rally, 68-65

Allen Freemon can heat up faster than an electric blanket.

And when the St. Francis High guard catches fire, as he did in the fourth quarter Tuesday night against Crespi, he can burn you.

But he is no Superman.

Freemon’s desperation 3-point shot with 1 second remaining was blocked by Pat Brady, preserving the Celts’ 68-65 Del Rey League victory at St. Francis.

Only the finishing touches were lacking on a furious rally engineered by Freemon, who made 5 consecutive shots, including 2 3-point baskets, to bring the Golden Knights back from a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter. Freemon finished with a game-high 25 points--13 in the final period.

“It used to be coming down here was fun, a sure win,” Crespi Coach Paul Muff said. “But no lead is comfortable against them.”

Crespi (10-9, 5-2 in league play) clinched second place with the victory. St. Francis (12-9, 3-4) must defeat St. John Bosco on Friday to clinch the league’s third and final playoff berth.

“We can’t do anything about this game,” St. Francis Coach John Jordan said. “We just have to get ready for St. John Bosco.”

The Golden Knights had little success against Crespi in the first half. Matt Luderer scored 16 first-half points as the Celts took leads of 20-5 after the first quarter and 34-25 at halftime.

Freemon, hounded by Chris McGee, scored only 7 points in the first half on 2-of-8 shooting.

Crespi, led by center Ken Lynch (16 points, 20 rebounds, 2 blocked shots), still led comfortably, 49-37, after three periods. But the St. Francis press forced 6 fourth-quarter turnovers and Freemon led the Golden Knights’ resurgence.

Crespi missed 7 of 9 free throws in the final 1:12 and St. Francis drew to within 68-65 on a basket by Jeff Dyrek with 26 seconds to play. After Crespi’s Rasaan Hall missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 22 seconds left, the Golden Knights missed 3 shots before calling time out with 1 second remaining. But Brady blocked Freemon’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer to preserve the Crespi victory.

“I’m glad the game didn’t have a few more minutes,” Muff said.