Basketball Recap: Brett Freeman's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Ardrey Kell over South Mecklenburg

Ardrey Kell suffered their closest loss since February 23, 2024 on Friday. They fell just short of the South Mecklenburg Sabres by a score of 62-59. The Knights have been going strong on the season, but this is now their second defeat in a row.

Ardrey Kell lost despite a true team effort on offense, the best among them being Brett Freeman, who went 7 of 13 to rack up 21 points. That was a full 35.6% of Ardrey Kell's points, marking the third time in a row he's posted more than a third of the team's points. Bryceton Thomas was another key player, almost dropping a double-double on 12 points and nine boards.

South Mecklenburg's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Jim Gatehouse, who went 5 for 11 on his way to 16 points and five rebounds. Gatehouse continues to improve, besting his previous point total in each of the last four games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Muja Williams, who went 6 of 7 en route to 16 points.

Ardrey Kell's loss dropped their record down to 17-5. As for South Mecklenburg, they have been performing well recently as they've won seven of their last nine games, which provided a nice bump to their 13-9 record this season.

Looking ahead, Ardrey Kell will face off against Olympic at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Olympic knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past four matchups -- so hopefully Ardrey Kell likes a good challenge. As for South Mecklenburg, they will square off against Ballantyne Ridge at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. South Mecklenburg is facing Ballantyne Ridge at the right time seeing as Ballantyne Ridge is stuck on a 19-game losing streak.