Ardrey Kell girls hold off South Meck, 55-50
The Ardrey Kell Knights girls were pressed to the end by a stubborn South Meck Sabres team but hung on for a 55-50 win Friday at South Meck.
Ardrey Kell, ranked No. 5 in the Sweet 16, stayed unbeaten in the SoMeck 8 conference at 7-0, while South Meck, ranked No. 13 in the Sweet 16, came close but couldn’t pull off the upset. Journey Mohammed led the Knights with 15 while Deniyah Lutz added 12 for Ardrey Kell.
In a frantic fourth quarter, the Sabres were on the verge of tying the game, only to be rebuffed each time by Ardrey Kell. Senior Krysta Davis was asked what Knights coach Jeff Buseick told the team during a late fourth-quarter timeout with Ardrey Kell trying to protect a small lead. “He told us to settle down, don’t force passes and be strong with the ball,” said Davis.
Aja Stevens paced South Meck with a game-high 20 points and A’lea Gilbert chipped in with 14 for the Sabres.
In the boys game a slow start once again plagued Ardrey Kell, as South Meck raced out to 9-2 start and won going away 52-39.
“We started out pretty hot, and once we slowed the game down it came pretty easy to us,” said Jalen Blakeney, who led the Sabres and all scorers with 14 points.
Josh Igwe finished with 12 and Khayleb Connelly added 11 for the Sabres. Michael Crosby and Khdir Brinkley each had 11 points to lead Ardrey Kell in scoring.
Trailing 26-18 at the half, the Knights went on an 8-2 run at the start of the third quarter to pull within two points. Later in the quarter Ardrey Kell cut the lead to three, but that’s as close as it would get.
“I was happy that when Ardrey Kell cut the lead down in the second half, we held it together,” said Sabres coach John Fitch. “We made a couple of defensive stops and pushed the lead back up at the end of the third quarter. They hung in there tough late.”
THEY SAID IT
“I’m really proud of how we competed. To come over here to South Meck in one of the toughest places to play in town, the atmosphere in this gym, we really stepped up at the end and played tough when we needed to.” – Ardrey Kell girls coach Jeff Buseick on what he liked best about his team’s win over South Meck.
RECORDS
Ardrey Kell boys (7-10, 3-4), South Meck boys (9-6, 5-2)
Ardrey Kell girls (13-4, 7-0), South Meck girls (10-5, 5-2)
WHAT’S NEXT
Ardrey Kell’s girls and boys will host West Mecklenburg on Jan. 22 at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. while South Meck girls and boys will play at Harding on Jan. 22 at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
This story was originally published January 15, 2016 at 11:09 PM with the headline "Ardrey Kell girls hold off South Meck, 55-50."