The Berry Cardinal pushed their score all the way to 57 on Friday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They took a 72-57 bruising from Ardrey Kell. While losing is never fun, Berry can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 343rd, while Ardrey Kell is ranked 75th).
When it comes to explaining why Berry lost, one person who can't be blamed is Zymiere Chester. Despite the final result, he almost dropped a double-double on 20 points and nine rebounds. Chester is trending in the right direction, as he's improved his point production for three games straight. The team also got some help courtesy of Kentrell Ellis, who scored nine points along with seven assists.
Even though they lost, Berry smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Delani Hammonds was his usual excellent self, scoring 17 points along with seven assists and seven rebounds for Ardrey Kell. Another player making a difference was Brett Freeman, who scored 13 points along with two steals.
Berry's loss was their third straight at home, which dropped their record down to 6-14. As for Ardrey Kell, the win was the third in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 15-5.
Berry will head out on the road to take on Harding University at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Berry is facing Harding University at the right time seeing as Harding University is stuck on a five-game losing streak. As for Ardrey Kell, they will look to defend their home court on Tuesday against Myers Park at 7:30 p.m. One thing working in Myers Park's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last six matches.
