Ardrey Kell loses lead at State Farm, holds on to beat Nation Ford
Trailing by one point less than a minute into the fourth quarter, Ardrey Kell found itself in a rock fight after holding two separate double-digit leads earlier in Friday night’s game against Nation Ford.
Not much was going right for the Knights’ offense, so junior guard Braden Suggs took matters into his own hands.
Suggs scored seven of Ardrey Kell’s first nine points of the fourth to put the Knights back in front by two, and his team would never trail the rest of the way as it hung on to win 57-55 on its home floor behind his game-high 26 points on Day 2 of the State Farm Classic.
A dozen of Suggs’ 26 came during the final eight minutes, none bigger than a 10-foot runner in the lane he swished home after a missed free throw with 7 seconds left that gave Ardrey Kell an insurmountable two-possession lead.
“It came off my hand, and I knew it was a little short,” Suggs said of his free throw. “I even yelled, ‘Short,’ and it came right back to me. I was thinking if I should dribble it out, but I went right up and made the little floater. Then of course I got hyped with my people.”
The triumph marked a third straight for the Knights, but it didn’t come easy. Nation Ford lost 59-35 to Charlotte Catholic on Thursday, but turned around and battled toe-to-toe with Ardrey Kell on Friday.
Knights head coach Mike Craft said Friday’s game is the best of both worlds for his players, because it’s a chance for them to learn and grow from their mistakes, but they also picked up a win in the process.
“You’ve got to give Nation Ford a lot of credit,” Craft said. “They came in here and played a really good game. They had a lead in the fourth quarter, and we had to battle, and we had to fight with everything we had.
“Luckily for us we came out with a win. We couldn’t stop their penetration, they finished well, they shot well. But give us credit too, as we were able to gut it out and make sure that we won down the stretch … to learn some lessons from a win instead of learning lessons from a loss is huge.”
After a pair of Suggs free throws put Ardrey Kell up 17-9 at the end of the first, Nation Ford showed its teeth in the second as the Falcons battled back to within two, 23-21, midway through the quarter. But Matthew Craft knocked down a big 3 to stop the bleeding, and Suggs scored five points straight to put the Knights back in front by 10.
The Falcons weren’t done yet. A 13-0 spurt highlighted by a trio of 3s from AJ Cureton (two) and Drew Robertson gave them a 34-31 edge early in the third. The teams continued to go back and forth until Suggs flipped a switch in the fourth.
“He stretched the floor a little bit more tonight,” Craft said of Suggs. “He hit some 3s, he was able to take it to the hole. He goes strong and was able to get to the free-throw line as well. He scored at all different levels tonight. … He was definitely a big reason we were able to win down the stretch.”
Three who made a difference
Braden Suggs, Ardrey Kell — Suggs entered takeover mode in the fourth quarter. The junior guard scored 12 of his game-high 26 points in the final frame to will his team to victory after Nation Ford had stormed from behind to take the lead. Whether it was getting to the rim, knocking down floaters or pulling up from 3, Suggs had it all working Friday night.
Makai McKnight, Nation Ford — When Falcons forward Drew Robertson exited the game because of foul trouble, McKnight shouldered the load offensively for Nation Ford. McKnight’s smooth ball handling allowed him to get in the lane and create for both himself and his teammates all night long. He ended with a team-high 18 points, with 13 of them coming in the second half.
Jayden Washington, Ardrey Kell — He may have only had four points, but they came in a crucial part of the game for the Knights. Washington banked home back-to-back layups in the third quarter to break a 5½-minute scoring drought for Ardrey Kell and put his team ahead by one. Washington also played stellar defense both on the perimeter and around the rim.
They said it
After Ardrey Kell stormed out to a 13-3 lead early on, and took a 10-point lead just before halftime, Nation Ford showed its fight and clawed back in the game in the second half. Ardrey Kell showed frustration during the Falcons’ run, but managed to stay engaged and pull out the close win in the final seconds.
The Knights are hoping to use Friday’s game as a learning experience as conference play looms.
“I thank my teammates a lot for being able to come back, because I’m not going to lie, we had some low moments in the game where we were mad at each other and stuff,” Ardrey Kell junior Braden Suggs said. “But I’m glad we were persistent enough to come back in the game.
“We came back together. We’re all friends, so we have to stay together in moments like that. I was glad we could do that and get the win. … I’m glad we’re able to have this type of [difficult] schedule so we know what we need to work on in the future.”
Up next
Nation Ford (3-3) is back at it Tuesday against Covenant Day at 7 p.m. Ardrey Kell is also in action Tuesday when it takes on Porter Ridge at 7:30 p.m.