Bellarmine College Prep ran into a dangerous opponent Wednesday night in the first round of the Northern California Division I regionals.

Freedom had superior height and, as its coach put it after the Falcons' 56-48 victory at Bellarmine, a nothing-to-lose frame of mind.

Two weeks after it thought its season was over when it lost a North Coast Section quarterfinal in heartbreaking fashion to Berkeley, Freedom took full advantage of the second chance it got Sunday when the California Interscholastic Federation put NCS D-I champ Monte Vista in the Open Division, clearing room for Freedom to resurrect its season.

Bellarmine College Prep Bells' Kieran Bradford (35) fights for a loose ball against Freedom Falcons' Devin Pierce (5) in the fourth quarter at Bellarmine College Prep for the first round of the Northern California Division I regional boys basketball playoffs in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, March 11, 2015. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) ( Nhat V. Meyer )

After fifth-seeded Bellarmine pulled within 48-47 with 21/2 minutes left, Freedom showed why it reached the Northern California Division I final last season, scoring eight of the final nine points to return to Oakley with the win.

Kendall McIntosh, a 6-foot-8 post, and guard Nick Evans each had 17 points for Freedom, which moves on to play at fourth-seeded Woodcreek on Saturday.

Kyle Owens (12 points) and Angelo Athens (11) led Bellarmine in scoring.

"It's a very surreal feeling right now because we lost at the buzzer (to Berkeley) and everyone is crying in the locker room thinking our season is done," said Freedom coach Drew Torres, whose team reached the NorCal final last season. "But then all of a sudden they said you might get an opportunity. Sure enough, we got in, the last seed. But we don't feel like we're a last-seeded team. We're just glad to be playing. No pressure's on us."

Bellarmine coach Patrick Schneider agreed that Freedom is much better than its seed. "But, still, it's not about rankings, it's not about seedings," Schneider said. "We had to come onto the court and play a much cleaner game than we played tonight. Freedom deserves all the credit for what they did. McIntosh, even with him alone, there is enough of a height advantage. But the other guys are long reach, quick."

Division II

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NorCal boys basketball: Bellarmine falls to Freedom in Division I opener