Brett Freeman’s 49 points lead Ardrey Kell boys’ basketball to tournament championship

Earlier this season, Ardrey Kell’s 6-foot-5 senior guard Brett Freeman threatened the school’s 10-season-old single game scoring record in a loss.

On Monday in the championship game of the Hickory Tavern/Chick-fil-A Blakeney Classic it hosted, Freeman got his school record and led the Knights to their ninth straight victory in a 73-55 victory over The Rock School from Gainesville, Florida.

Freeman scored 49 points and led Ardrey Kell out of an early 17-9 deficit for a runaway victory.

“Coach (Mike) Craft knows who I am as a player,” Freeman said. “He knows I’m never scared of the moment and knows I’ll play with a chip on my shoulder.”

Freeman hit 3-pointers, mid-range jumpers, driving layups (many in traffic) and free throws in surpassing the school’s previous record — a 44-point effort from Steven Santa Ana in the 2015 N.C. 4A state championship game loss to Garner at UNC’s Smith Center.

Freeman, who is set to make a visit to Tennessee for its home game against Arkansas on Saturday and is also receiving interest from Florida State, had 12 points in the first quarter, 15 in the second quarter, six in the third quarter and 16 in the fourth quarter.

“What an individual performance,” Craft said of the Knights’ senior guard who was selected MVP of the tournament. “We’re normally more balanced but he’s a special talent and he mostly took what the defense gave him.

“He hit 3-pointers and mid-range jumpers and made a lot of contested layups.”

Freeman’s effort in the first quarter came after the Lions hit their first four 3-point attempts and six of their first eight field goal attempts to take a 17-9 lead with 2:42 left in the opening period.

Sparked by Freeman, the Knights took their first lead at 26-24 with 5:33 left in the opening half, were ahead by 10 points with 1:50 left in the half and took a 42-29 lead at the break.

In the second half, the Lions got no closer than 11.

After making their first four 3-pointers, The Rock School made just three of its final 18 long-range attempts.

Three who made a difference

Brett Freeman, Ardrey Kell: He converted 14 of 22 field goals (five of 10 on 3-pointers) and 16 of 18 free throws in his 49-point performance. He finished the three-game tournament with 89 total points. His previous high game was 43 points in an 82-77 loss at Charlotte Catholic on Nov. 19.

Owen Wacker, Ardrey Kell: The Knights’ 6-6 center had seven points and 10 rebounds while battling The Rock School’s 6-9 Hendrix Loughridge (eight points) in the post throughout much of the contest.

Kayden Merricks, The Rock School: He had three 3-pointers in the first quarter and finished with a team-high 16 points.

Notable

▪ The Rock School’s visit from Florida to play in Charlotte was due to Lions head coach Brian Findley’s connection to Ardrey Kell’s Craft. Not only are both Wingate graduates, but Craft was a Bulldogs assistant when Findley played there in the late 1990s.

▪ Craft is the only coach in Ardrey Kell’s 19-year history and has a 337-169 overall record with six Western N.C. 4A regional appearances and two N.C. 4A runner-up finishes.

▪ Ardrey Kell returns to action on Friday at Berry Academy in a SoMeck 4A Conference matchup.

They said it

“The scouting report was that they didn’t shoot many 3s. But once they hit a few of them, I thought our defense was much, much better on all of their shots.” — Ardrey Kell’s Craft.

Game summary

The Rock 21 8 13 13 — 55

Ardrey Kell 16 26 13 18 — 73

THE ROCK 55 — Zaire Colbert 10, Kyroe Jordan 14, Kayden Merricks 16, Dixon 4, Malik Johnson 2, Mario Johnson 1, Loughridge 8.

ARDREY KELL 73 — Brett Freeman 49, Tharakan 1, Craft 7, Morrison 2, Suggs 3, Thomas 4, Wacker 7.

Records: The Rock 11-3; Ardrey Kell 10-1

Greater Charlotte top boys’ single-game scorers

— Langston Wertz Jr.

This story was originally published December 30, 2024 at 11:31 PM.