Basketball Game Preview: Berry Cardinals vs. Ardrey Kell Knights

Berry hasn't had much luck against Ardrey Kell recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Berry Cardinals are taking a road trip to face off against the Ardrey Kell Knights at 7:30 p.m. Keep an eye on the score for this one: both posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

Berry took a loss when they played away from home on Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Tuesday. They managed a 62-57 victory over South Mecklenburg. The win was all the more spectacular given the Cardinals' disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 309th, while the Sabres are ranked 100th).

Meanwhile, Ardrey Kell came tearing into Tuesday's contest with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 14.3 points) and they left with even more momentum. They really took it to the Wolves for the full four quarters, racking up a 74-44 victory. The Knights have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six matches by 20 points or more this season.

Berry better focus on containing Brett Freeman and Bryceton Thomas as the pair were huge in Ardrey Kell's win. Freeman went 8 for 17 en route to 21 points and six boards, while Thomas posted ten points in addition to eight rebounds and six assists. The dominant performance gave Thomas a new career-high in assists. Matthew Craft was another key player, putting up 11 points.

Ardrey Kell pushed their record up to 16-3 with the win, which was their fourth straight on the road. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 70.5 points per game. As for Berry, their victory ended a four-game drought at home and bumped them up to 7-13.

Berry couldn't quite finish off Ardrey Kell when the teams last played on January 3rd and fell 64-62. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Freeman, who went 7 of 9 from beyond the arc on his way to 38 points. Now that Berry knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.