It’s coming down to crunch time for Freedom’s basketball team on whether they want to be part of the District 11 playoff conversation down the stretch.

That starts this week in a three game slate with Easton, Liberty and Dieruff on tap in an important week for their playoff hopes.

The Pates (3-6) need every win they can squeeze out and this week provides an opportunity to at scraping together some momentum after dropping their last two games.

“This week is very crucial to us trying to make the playoffs,” said head coach joe Stellato. “We are playing better, but need to translate that into wins. We have to get better in the fourth period and find ways to win, not find ways to lose.”

Playing a winless Easton (0-5) team presents a chance at the win column, while a rivalry contest with Liberty (7-4) on Thursday is never an easy battle. They close out the week against Dieruff (2-6), who have struggled this season as well.

Getting better is key for Stellato’s crew at the moment, as he knows they need to start collecting wins.

“We are shooting 54% as a team from the foul line,” he said. “That obviously has to get better to start turning these losses into wins. We still have time to fix these things and are heading in the right direction with a positive attitude and some winnable games coming up.”

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After dropping three straight over the holidays, Liberty has bounced back with two straight wins against Pocono Mountain East and Whitehall.

The Hurricanes now have a week of rivalry tilts with Bethlehem Catholic on Tuesday and Freedom on Thursday. They close out the week on Saturday against one of the best teams in the state with Central Catholic (9-1).