Heading into its matchup with Antioch, Freedom knew Antioch's game plan: pound it inside to talented 6-foot 8-inch center Tim Williams at every opportunity. But the Falcons could do little to contain Williams and his Panther teammates Tuesday, as Antioch picked up its fourth win in a row, 70-53.

Williams was his normal dominant self in the low post, scoring 20 points and making four blocks in the victory. "I thought that we played hard," said Antioch coach John Woolery. "We were able to execute and get Tim Williams the ball down the stretch. We're trying to get ready for the playoffs."

The Panthers (16-6, 10-3 in the Bay Valley Athletic League) continued to hone their physical defensive skills, holding Freedom to under 10 points in both the first and second quarters en route to a big 35-16 halftime lead.

Meanwhile, the Panther offense got contributions from a number of players, including Emmanuel Bradford and Deandre Lancaster, who combined for 19 points. Bradford came off the bench with an inspired performance, putting up 12 points, 9 of them in the second half.

But Freedom, whose biggest deficit was 28 points with 6:43 to go in the fourth quarter, didn't go down without a fight. The Falcons (1-24, 0-15) were led by Daniel Pereira, who tallied 17 points, and Marc Miranda, who scored 13. All of Miranda's points came in the second half and helped pull the Falcons within 16 at 62-46 with 3:30 to go in the game.

After getting manhandled in the low post in the first half, Freedom did a good job coming out of the break, especially on Williams, who notched only five points in the second half. "We played alright," said assistant coach Don Kernsey, filling in for the absent Steve Larsen. "We played with heart and were able to fight the big guy pretty good."

It has been a rough season for the Falcons. A loss in tonight's season finale against Ygnacio Valley means Freedom will go winless in BVAL play for the season.

Freedom will lose six players to graduation this year, including leading scorer Marc Miranda, but will return seven players, who believe next season will be more successful for the Falcons. "We shot pretty good," said junior guard Deon James. "I think we did alright with our passing. We should be better next year."

Antioch, which currently sits in third place in the BVAL, has only one game remaining before an almost certain playoff appearance in the North Coast Section playoffs. The

Panthers lost 53-50 at Monte Vista in the second round of the NCS playoffs last year.

Antioch returns to the court tonight for its season finale at home against Heritage at 7 p.m.