Burke County hoops

[FreedomAlum]

Figured I’d have a running thread on Burke County basketball for the season. Tonight I went to the FHS games vs Patton. The Lady Patriots rolled over the Lady Panthers 60-12 and looked a lot better than I expected. Payton Caldwell and Sidney Demiter had big games for Freedom. The boys game was a nail biter with Freedom pulling out a 45-44 win after a clutch three in the last 30 seconds from Dyson Dellinger. The Patton boys remain winless all time against their cross town rivals, but this one was very close.

 

[FreedomAlum]

Went over and watched Patton and E. Burke tonight. Girl's game was a blowout with the Lady Cavs all over the Lady Panthers. E. Burke could contend in 2A, they finished 2nd in the CVAC and played a couple of close games with N-C last year. Coach Bartlett has most of her good players back from that team as well as moving up some girls from the EB middle school championship team.
The boy's game was close thru three quarters with the Panthers gradually pulling away. This might be coach Brittain's best job as his team lost a lot of talent off last year's team. Coach Ramsey is always teaching and his Cavs may come around, but he has some work to do. I think both teams are probably going to be in the middle of their respective conferences, which is an improvement for EB and exceeding expectations for Patton this year.

 

[FreedomAlum]

Freedom played host to Hickory tonight. Lady Pats got a nice win and I'm starting to think that they might surprise me this year. They lost a lot from last year's team, and they are young with no seniors on the roster, but they've played well so far. The Lady Cavaliers from E. Burke will be a nice test for the Lady Pats tomorrow night.

The boy's game was a 70-69 thriller with the Tornadoes coming out on top. Hickory pressed for most of the night and their big guys gave the Patriots a lot of trouble around the basket. Still Freedom had a long three from Amore Connelly at the end that would have taken the win. Philly Harris had a big game for Freedom and, once he gets the three to start falling, Freedom will have a nice 1-2 punch offensively.

 

[FreedomAlum]

Freedom hosted E. Burke tonight and both games were thrillers. The Lady Pats had to rally from behind but defeated a tough Lady Cav team 57-53 as Peyton Caldwell hit some clutch free throws late.
The Patriots had to fend off a scare from E. Burke in the boy's game as they were without Amore Connelly for most of the night when he went out with an ankle injury in the second quarter. That allowed some of the supporting cast a chance to shine and Freedom got a nice effort from Gavin McNaughton and won 63-59.

 

[swatz19]

I look for Draughn to win both games at freedom Tuesday.

 

[FreedomAlum]

Freedom hosted Draughn tonight and the Patriots got two nice wins. In the girls game it was probably Freedom's best effort on the season and they got some nice balance in their scoring. Sidney Demiter led the way with 22 and Peyton Caldwell continued her hot play with 21. Statelee McGee added 13 and hit several three pointers.

In the boys game Freedom went on a 19-0 run to turn a 23-15 deficit into a 34-23 lead and never looked back on their way to a 74-45 win. I don't know who had how many points, but I do know that Philly Harris tied the unofficial school record with five dunks including a beautiful windmill on a breakaway. Several Patriots really upped their game in the absence of Amore Connelly and it was nice to see such a good effort.

 

[FreedomAlum]

Freedom travelled to Hickory tonight. The Lady Patriots escaped with a 41-40 win as a couple of Lady Tornado shots that would have won the game clanged off the rim. But if anyone would have told me that the Lady Pats would be 5=0 at this point on the season I would never have believed it, so I can't complain.

The boys fell to the Tornadoes 69-47. Honestly, I've been watching Freedom play basketball for over four decades and the first half just might be the worst half of basketball I have ever seen them play. It was 33-11 at intermission and nothing was going right, All the credit in the world to Hickory and the Patriots did play much better in the second half (the closest they got was 59-46 at one point), but the first half was brutal.

 

[BK13T-$]

Way to go Freedom!

 

[swatz19]

Draughn played 5 extra weeks of football and only practiced once before this game. i look for the rematch to be a lot closer.

 

[CHEERDUCK]

Freedom travelled to Hickory tonight. The Lady Patriots escaped with a 41-40 win as a couple of Lady Tornado shots that would have won the game clanged off the rim. But if anyone would have told me that the Lady Pats would be 5=0 at this point on the season I would never have believed it, so I can't complain.

The boys fell to the Tornadoes 69-47. Honestly, I've been watching Freedom play basketball for over four decades and the first half just might be the worst half of basketball I have ever seen them play. It was 33-11 at intermission and nothing was going right, All the credit in the world to Hickory and the Patriots did play much better in the second half (the closest they got was 59-46 at one point), but the first half was brutal.

Hickory played solid. Harris tried to do way too much in the 1st half.

 

[FreedomAlum]

Freedom played host to Patton Friday night. In the girl's game the Lady Pats were without a couple of their starters and the Lady Panthers were decimated by illness so it's hard to say much about the game one way or another. Freedom won 55-19, with Demiter and Caldwell again leading the way. I liked that some of the girls who usually come off the bench got some more playing time, but not much else to report.

In the boy's game the Patriots slowly pulled away to pick up the 66-52 win. Philly Harris had a nice dunk at the end to put the exclamation point on the victory while Dyson Dellinger and Gavin McNaughton both kept up their steady play. It will be interesting to see how much balance Freedom can maintain when Amore Connelly comes back. A nice bonus was that Patriot legend Leon Johnson, who now lives in Oklahoma, was at the game looking like he could still put on his Tarheels uniform and get after it. This marked his first appearance at a Freedom game in quite some time.

 

[FreedomAlum]

Went up to Icard for Freedom and E. Burke last night. The girl's game saw Freedom jump out to a 20 point lead midway through the second quarter at 30-10. But then the Lady Cavs moved out of the zone they had been in and they managed to slowly chip away at Freedom's lead. The first tie was at 37 but Freedom still had a four point lead with just over a minute left. E. Burke scored the last eight points of the game to get the 60-56 win behind strong play from Braelyn Stillwell while the Lady Pats got a big showing from Statlee McGee and Haven Gladden.
In the boy's game Freedom gradually pulled away and got a 70-46 win. The Patriots continue to get good balance from Philly Harris, Dyson Dellinger and Gavin McNaughton in the absence of Amore Connelly. Connelly is expected back for Saturday's game against Concord Cannon and, if Freedom can continue to get good play from those kids as well as the solid contributions from some of the guys coming off the bench, I think they will be in good shape come conference play.

 

[FreedomAlum]

Travelled over to Enola road tonight to watch Patton and Draughn play. In the girl’s game Draughn opened up a big lead early and had the necessary 40 point lead for a running clock before halftime. The Lady Panthers will probably get some wins in conference, but for now they are struggling. The Lady Wildcats looked solid, but their conference fate depends a lot on how well Aubrey Snyder recovers from her shoulder injury.
The boy’s game was back and forth all night with Patton taking a 70-65 win. Patton was best when they could press and push the tempo while Draughn seemed to do best when they could use their height advantage in the half court game. Ultimately the Panthers converted their free throws at the end while Draughn wad unable to make the threes they attempted to try to catch up. I think this might be Dennis Britain’s best coaching job as he lost a lot off last year’s team, but he had his boys ready to get after it every night.

 

[icardcav3]

Travelled over to Enola road tonight to watch Patton and Draughn play. In the girl’s game Draughn opened up a big lead early and had the necessary 40 point lead for a running clock before halftime. The Lady Panthers will probably get some wins in conference, but for now they are struggling. The Lady Wildcats looked solid, but their conference fate depends a lot on how well Aubrey Snyder recovers from her shoulder injury.
The boy’s game was back and forth all night with Patton taking a 70-65 win. Patton was best when they could press and push the tempo while Draughn seemed to do best when they could use their height advantage in the half court game. Ultimately the Panthers converted their free throws at the end while Draughn wad unable to make the threes they attempted to try to catch up. I think this might be Dennis Britain’s best coaching job as he lost a lot off last year’s team, but he had his boys ready to get after it every night.

Not to mention Draughn played without their leading scorer for the 2nd night in a row. Draughn has to find away to go to the bench it seems theirs not much use of the bench in the 2nd half for some reason, had some real good minutes in the 1st quarter out of the a couple guys off the bench then they just sit there the rest of the time. Way too many turnovers for Draughn and they play lazy at times on defense getting beat back a few times in the 4th quarter but that’s probably due to lack of substitution the starters just got wore out. This Draughn team can be really good if they figure a couple things out

 

[FreedomAlum]

Because of peculiarities in the schedule I was able to catch multiple games tonight.
I started with the girl’s only contest of Freedom at Enka. The Lady Pats rolled and Enka was without thei best player, the Dill girl, who dressed but didn’t play. Freedom put the running clock on the Sugar Jets which allowed me to hit the road and go to…
Patton at Polk. This was a short drive down I-26 and the girls game was tight until the Lady Wolverines pulled away for the win. I thought Patton had the chance to pick up their first victory of the season, but Polk got a couple of clutch baskets late to pull it out.
The boys game was tied at halftime but Patton pulled away in the third quarter and led by ad many as 13. In the fourth quarter Polk went to the press and came back to tie it at 56, but Patton made their free throws down the stretch to get a nine point win.

 

[FreedomAlum]

Followed the Patriots to Concord Cannon tonight. Got to see High Point Christian take on Providence Day and Mallard Creek play Carmel Christian before FHS played the hosts. Lots of high flying for the scouts at this showcase with probably 15 dunks in the three games.
Freedom played well in spurts but Cannon pulled away for.an 87-65 win. Amore Connelly had 32 in his first game back after his ankle injury. I don’t know if the guys deferred to him or if he just took over. I will say that he kept us in it, but also that they had good chemistry when he was out that seemed to be missing tonight. I think the Patriots will be fine going forward, but it would be better if they had more balance. Braxton King and Max Taylor both played well coming off the bench.

 

[FreedomAlum]

Freedom played host to AC Reynolds tonight. Lady Pats were close at halftime, but played poorly in the second half. The Lady Rockets had a big height advantage and dominated the boards while the Lady Pats just could not get things together offensively. Still, if you had told me that Freedom's girls would only have two losses going into the Christmas tournament at the start of the season I would have been happy to hear it, so I can't really complain.

The boy's contest was a really good game. Freedom pulled out a 62-60 win thanks to some clutch free throw shooting from Amore Connelly and a nice steal and layup from Avery Pollard. Freedom got balanced scoring on the night as Philly Harris, Kayden Lytle and Gavin McNaughton also had good nights. I think if the Patriots can continue to play ten deep, as they did tonight, that they will cause problems in conference play.

I wanted to try to make it over and see the end of the Patton game against W. Caldwell, but couldn't quite make it work. I'll try to catch their game against Mitchell on Thursday and maybe Draughn at Ashe tomorrow before the Christmas tournaments start.

 

[FreedomAlum]

Took a road trip to see Draughn play at Ashe County tonight. The girl's game was a wild affair as Ashe jumped out to a big lead early 20-4. Draughn managed to cut into that some in the first half, but the Lady Huskies were still up by double figures heading into the fourth quarter. The Lady Wildcats got really hot from behind the arc late and kept chipping away until they were able to tie it at 70 on a trey from Aubrey Snyder with just 10 seconds left. The game went to overtime and the Lady Wildcats were able to carry their momentum over and took an 82-80 win.
In the boy's game it looked like there might be a repeat of what happened in the girl's contest. Ashe was knocking down the three early and got up big only to see Draughn chip away and get within two, but the Wildcats couldn't get any closer and the Huskies eventually pulled away to take a 10-point win.

 

[FreedomAlum]

Last game before the Christmas tournaments begin was Patton playing host to Mitchell. In the girl's game I thought that the Lady Mountaineers were going to put the running clock on the Lady Panthers, but a nice little run late staved off that particular humiliation. I still think the Patton girls will win a few games in their conference this season, but for now they continue to struggle.
The boy's game was about how I expected, with Patton pulling about a 30-point win. I am a fan of the little Chamberlain kid that plays the point for the Panthers as he plays with a lot of energy and alters the tempo in Patton's favor when he's in there. I think Patton will finish in the middle of their conference this year, but this is still a great job by coach Dennis Brittain when you consider that he lost most, if not all, of his starters from last season and his team is essentially playing .500 basketball.

 

[FreedomAlum]

I had intended to spend all day at the Freedom Christmas tournament yesterday, but illness over the weekend limited my ability to do so. I was able to get there to see the end of the Draughn and R-S Central boys' game, won by the Hilltoppers, but missed the Draughn girls and both Hibriten teams.
In the games I was able to catch the Shelby girls looked good in a win over Ashbrook (can any Shelby posters tell me if the Hollyfield girl is related to Dax?) and W. Caldwell was able to grind out a win over TC Roberson, though it was closer than the final score.
The Lady Patriots struggled in their win against Rising Stars Prep Academy, who I don't have much information about, and frankly looked sloppy for large parts of the game. In girl's play today Draughn takes on Hibriten while Freedom gets Shelby in the winner's bracket.
The Patriots faced Chase in the finale. The Trojans were bad last year and look to be improved, but they were no match for Freedom. Amore Connelly had a big game with 27 points and a dunk and Philly Harris had 5 dunks as Freedom cruised to a 91-59 win. The Patriots get W. Caldwell today while the other side of the bracket is Enka vs, R-S Central

 

[FreedomAlum]

I managed to get to Freedom yesterday in time to see the second half of the Draughn/Hibriten girls semifinal. Hibriten would win by about 15, but Draughn cut it to three at one point and I think it was closer than the final score indicated. In the other girls semifinal Shelby got a big performance from the Hollyfield girl and the Lady Pats couldn't throw it in the ocean from behind the arc so the Lady Golden Lions got a 40-35 win. The finals today with Shelby and Hibriten should be a good game.
In boys' semifinal action Enka broke open a close game after halftime and slowly pulled away from R-S Central. The Tiller kid and big Mikey Wilkins seemed to be having their own personal competition with each getting some nice dunks and a couple of blocks on the other. Enka eventually won by double digits. In the nightcap Freedom got a huge second half performance from Amore Connelly, including three nice dunks. and pulled out a 76-70 win over a tough West Caldwell team. Looking forward to seeing both the third place and championship games today.

 

[BlueDevil1996]

I managed to get to Freedom yesterday in time to see the second half of the Draughn/Hibriten girls semifinal. Hibriten would win by about 15, but Draughn cut it to three at one point and I think it was closer than the final score indicated. In the other girls semifinal Shelby got a big performance from the Hollyfield girl and the Lady Pats couldn't throw it in the ocean from behind the arc so the Lady Golden Lions got a 40-35 win. The finals today with Shelby and Hibriten should be a good game.
In boys' semifinal action Enka broke open a close game after halftime and slowly pulled away from R-S Central. The Tiller kid and big Mikey Wilkins seemed to be having their own personal competition with each getting some nice dunks and a couple of blocks on the other. Enka eventually won by double digits. In the nightcap Freedom got a huge second half performance from Amore Connelly, including three nice dunks. and pulled out a 76-70 win over a tough West Caldwell team. Looking forward to seeing both the third place and championship games today.

You do a good job keep us in the loop!

 

[FreedomAlum]

You do a good job keep us in the loop!

Thanks, I appreciate it!

 

[FreedomAlum]

Tonight was the finals of the Freedom Christmas Invitational. I got there in time to see the girls' consolation finals with Draughn taking a big win over the Lady Pats. The Lady Wildcats jumped out to a big lead early and Freedom only got it down to five at one point before Draughn pulled away. The three-point shooting woes for the Lady Patriots continued for the second night in a row while several Lady Wildcats were burying it from behind the arc, notably Ella Abernathy.

In the boy's consolation W. Caldwell took a nice win over R-S Central in what was a replay of a third round playoff game last year. I think the Warriors will be tough to beat come playoff time this season but they have a tougher conference with Maiden stepping up their game.

In the girls finals the Hibriten Lady Panthers jumped out to a big lead and then kept up the pressure as they beat Shelby pretty convincingly. One thing I really like about Hibriten's girls is that they really get after it and hustle after every ball. They don't have a lot of depth, but they can still run with you and don't seem to wear down.

The highlight of the night was the boy's final. Freedom took on Enka in a game that was up and down throughout. At one point Freedom was able to pull ahead by 10 and kept it there for a large part of the third and fourth quarters, but Enka came back and led 70-68 with just over a minute left. The Patriots were helped when Avery Pollard got a nice steal and layup and Amore Connelly had another very nice game for Freedom as did Dyson Dellinger and Philly Harris. Watching Connelly and Jacob Tiller from Enka try to one up each other all night was a lot of fun. In the end Freedom held off the Jets for an exciting 79-75 win.

 

[CHEERDUCK]

I had intended to spend all day at the Freedom Christmas tournament yesterday, but illness over the weekend limited my ability to do so. I was able to get there to see the end of the Draughn and R-S Central boys' game, won by the Hilltoppers, but missed the Draughn girls and both Hibriten teams.
In the games I was able to catch the Shelby girls looked good in a win over Ashbrook (can any Shelby posters tell me if the Hollyfield girl is related to Dax?) and W. Caldwell was able to grind out a win over TC Roberson, though it was closer than the final score.
The Lady Patriots struggled in their win against Rising Stars Prep Academy, who I don't have much information about, and frankly looked sloppy for large parts of the game. In girl's play today Draughn takes on Hibriten while Freedom gets Shelby in the winner's bracket.
The Patriots faced Chase in the finale. The Trojans were bad last year and look to be improved, but they were no match for Freedom. Amore Connelly had a big game with 27 points and a dunk and Philly Harris had 5 dunks as Freedom cruised to a 91-59 win. The Patriots get W. Caldwell today while the other side of the bracket is Enka vs, R-S Central

Dax and Ally are 1st cousins.

 

[ohio tarheels]

Tonight was the finals of the Freedom Christmas Invitational. I got there in time to see the girls' consolation finals with Draughn taking a big win over the Lady Pats. The Lady Wildcats jumped out to a big lead early and Freedom only got it down to five at one point before Draughn pulled away. The three-point shooting woes for the Lady Patriots continued for the second night in a row while several Lady Wildcats were burying it from behind the arc, notably Ella Abernathy.

In the boy's consolation W. Caldwell took a nice win over R-S Central in what was a replay of a third round playoff game last year. I think the Warriors will be tough to beat come playoff time this season but they have a tougher conference with Maiden stepping up their game.

In the girls finals the Hibriten Lady Panthers jumped out to a big lead and then kept up the pressure as they beat Shelby pretty convincingly. One thing I really like about Hibriten's girls is that they really get after it and hustle after every ball. They don't have a lot of depth, but they can still run with you and don't seem to wear down.

The highlight of the night was the boy's final. Freedom took on Enka in a game that was up and down throughout. At one point Freedom was able to pull ahead by 10 and kept it there for a large part of the third and fourth quarters, but Enka came back and led 70-68 with just over a minute left. The Patriots were helped when Avery Pollard got a nice steal and layup and Amore Connelly had another very nice game for Freedom as did Dyson Dellinger and Philly Harris. Watching Connelly and Jacob Tiller from Enka try to one up each other all night was a lot of fun. In the end Freedom held off the Jets for an exciting 79-75 win.

The Hibriten girls will pressure you for 32 minutes and love to try and run all day if possible!!!

 

[FreedomAlum]

Went over to Icard to see E. Burke and Newton-Conover tonight. I was primarily interested in the girl's game as I think the CVAC championship will likely come down to these two teams. I wasn't disappointed as the game went to overtime before the Lady Cavs took a 55-50 victory. Aubrie Griggs hit some clutch free throws down the stretch to salt away the win.
In the boy's game East Burke led for most of the second half and was up by five with about three minutes to play, but they let Newton Conover come back and take the 48-43 win. This is the kind of game that the Cavaliers need to win to improve their program and they had the opportunity but could not close it out.

 

[FreedomAlum]

Freedom at Draughn was the only game on tap in Burke County tonight and I wanted to see how the Lady Patriots rebounded from last week's loss to the Lady Wildcats. I was pleasantly surprised with the way Freedom played tonight as they picked up a big 61-45 win. Draughn was without Aubrey Snyder for large parts of the game as she aggravated her pre-existing shoulder injury, but even so Freedom seemed to shake out of the offensive slump they suffered through last week and this win should help them with their confidence as they enter conference play.
In the boy's game Freedom jumped out early and never looked back as they put the running clock on Draughn midway through the third quarter and won 93-50. I still think that Draughn can challenge for their conference title, but they obviously have some issues they need to address, and I think their new coach is trying to best figure out how to proceed. I look for Freedom to dominate the boy's side of the NW3A/4A, but I know that there are a lot of good 3A teams out there come playoff time.

 

[BK13T-$]

👍😊

 

[icardcav3]

Freedom at Draughn was the only game on tap in Burke County tonight and I wanted to see how the Lady Patriots rebounded from last week's loss to the Lady Wildcats. I was pleasantly surprised with the way Freedom played tonight as they picked up a big 61-45 win. Draughn was without Aubrey Snyder for large parts of the game as she aggravated her pre-existing shoulder injury, but even so Freedom seemed to shake out of the offensive slump they suffered through last week and this win should help them with their confidence as they enter conference play.
In the boy's game Freedom jumped out early and never looked back as they put the running clock on Draughn midway through the third quarter and won 93-50. I still think that Draughn can challenge for their conference title, but they obviously have some issues they need to address, and I think their new coach is trying to best figure out how to proceed. I look for Freedom to dominate the boy's side of the NW3A/4A, but I know that there are a lot of good 3A teams out there come playoff time.

Draughn has no chance at winning a conference title this year at best 3rd place finish, they have to many injuries and even with no injuries this team has no identity there is no best player or a guy who is willing to take a game over the bench is a wreck as their no true rotation or production so we will see what happens when the 2 injured guys get back

 

[FreedomAlum]

Here's where things stand with county teams:

Boys

Freedom 10-3, 0-0 5th in RPI 3A West

Patton 6-6, 2-0 24th in RPI 2A West

E. Burke 1-9, 0-3 45th in RPI 2A West

Draughn 5-7, 3-1 28th in RPI 1A West



Girls

Freedom 9-4, 0-0, 6th in RPI 3A West

Patton 0-13, 0-2, 42nd in RPI 2A West

E. Burke 9-1, 3-0, 4th in RPI 2A West

Draughn 9-4, 4-0, 9th in RPI 1A West

Right now it looks like the East Burke girls and Freedom boys are in good position to challenge for a conference championship, but I am cautiously optimistic about the Freedom girls, Draughn girls and Patton boys. The Patton boys have been the biggest surprise for me this year. Everyone seems to be in decent shape with regards to making the playoffs except the Patton girls and E. Burke boys but both of those teams have winnable games coming up

 

[ohio tarheels]

Freedom @ Hibriten tomorrow to open the conference per of their respective schedules…. Hoping I can get there to see start of girls game to see if Panthers continue their torrid start to the season

 

[Maiden Creek]

Here's where things stand with county teams:

Boys

Freedom 10-3, 0-0 5th in RPI 3A West

Patton 6-6, 2-0 24th in RPI 2A West

E. Burke 1-9, 0-3 45th in RPI 2A West

Draughn 5-7, 3-1 28th in RPI 1A West



Girls

Freedom 9-4, 0-0, 6th in RPI 3A West

Patton 0-13, 0-2, 42nd in RPI 2A West

E. Burke 9-1, 3-0, 4th in RPI 2A West

Draughn 9-4, 4-0, 9th in RPI 1A West

Right now it looks like the East Burke girls and Freedom boys are in good position to challenge for a conference championship, but I am cautiously optimistic about the Freedom girls, Draughn girls and Patton boys. The Patton boys have been the biggest surprise for me this year. Everyone seems to be in decent shape with regards to making the playoffs except the Patton girls and E. Burke boys but both of those teams have winnable games coming up

Yep…East Burke boys should beat Bunker Hill tonight.

East Burke boys have very competitive losses in conference play versus Maiden, Bandys and Newton Conover. I’ll be anxious to see how they fare against those teams the 2nd time around.

That lone win for the Cavs was a surprise to me….beating Patton by 13 after losing to them by 15 a month before. Gotta feeling they’ll have a few more surprise wins before it’s over.

 

[FreedomAlum]

There was a lot of good action around Burke County tonight, I was at the Freedom/Hibriten game in Lenoir because I hoped that the Lady Patriots might pull the upset and I wanted to eat at the new jD's BBQ in Gamewell (which was great and I think the layout there is better than the one in Rutherford College).
The Lady Patriots played two good quarters, one bad quarter and one decent quarter. They got behind by double figures in the second quarter after playing well in the first period and then came back and cut the lead to 33-31 early in the fourth period. Hibriten hit a couple of big three pointers and made enough of their free throws from that point on to pull out a 10 point win, but I thought it was a competitive game.
In the boys game Freedom broke open a close game late in the third quarter and won 75-60. The long and the short of it is that Amore Connelly had 38 points and I would have said he was having an off game at about the midway point of the third quarter. At that point he just took over and Freedom pulled away for the win. The Patriots had no points from the bench, which was surprising because they have been getting good production from the bench, but the starters played pretty well and carried them to victory.
In other action around the county, the Patton girls picked up their first win of the season AND put the running clock on the R-S Central Lady Hilltoppers. The Draughn girls got the running clock put on them by Rosman and East Burke rolled over Bunker Hill in girl's play. On the boy's side Patton dropped a close one to R-S, Draughn beat up on Rosman and E. Burke got their second win of the year coming back from down big early to beat Bunker Hill. It was kind of an interesting night for county teams with those results and I'm curious to see how the rest of the season plays out from here.

 

[FreedomAlum]

Tonight Freedom played host to South Caldwell. In the girl's game the Lady Spartans ran out to an early 14-5 lead before the Lady Patriots recovered and made it 22-19 going into the half. It was close all throughout the third quarter before Freedom pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 14-point win, 50-36. Sidney Demiter had a really good game for the Lady Patriots with 15 points and she had ice water in her veins at the free throw line.
In the boy's game Freedom was without Amore Connelly in the second half as he re-aggravated his ankle injury. With their star sitting out the rest of the Patriots really stepped up their game as Dyson Dellinger led the way with 23 points, making at least six three-pointers. I would call this a workmanlike performance for Freedom and I think they won by about 18 (74-56 I think).

 

[FreedomAlum]

Freedom played host to Ashe County tonight. In the girl's game The Lady Huskie's took an early lead and were never threatened. I can't sugar coat it, the Lady Patriots had probably their worst game of the season. It was 48-24 in the fourth quarter before Freedom scored the last 11 points of the game to make it semi respectable. I can't fault the defensive effort, but offensive woes continue to plague Freedom and only Sidney Demiter and Peyton Caldwell had any real output. Credit to Ashe for figuring out how to get the ball to their big girl with lots of nice backdoor cuts, now the Lady Patriots have to get ready to travel to Watauga and the Lady Pioneers will be looking for some revenge after falling to Hibriten tonight.
In the boy's game Freedom got an 82-62 win. Three Patriots had more than 20 points; Gavin McNaughton had his best game of the season, Dyson Dellinger also continued his hot play and Philly Harris hustled and had three nice dunks including a windmill late to cap off the win. Amore Connelly played well on defense, but struggled some offensively and still looks a little off from his injury. Freedom is getting good minutes from ten players and I like how they have nice depth going forward.

 

[FreedomAlum]

I drove over to Enola road to watch Patton play host to Chase tonight. In girl's play the Lady Panthers picked up their second win of the season 41-26 over the Lady Trojans. Patton's ability to shoot the three ball was the difference in the game and I think they may even be able to win enough in conference play to either make the playoffs or be right on the bubble.
In the boy's game I thought that Patton would win against Chase by double digits. I last saw Chase in the Freedom Christmas Invitational and they went 0-3 and didn't look good at all. But they do have a big kid who shows some promise (moves well, has good hands, needs to beef up some) and he was the difference maker tonight. He stopped a lot of dribble penetration by the Panthers with either blocked or altered shots. He also did a decent job rebounding on both ends and gave the Trojans a lot of second chance points. He fouled out with less than 20 seconds remaining and if he had fouled out a minute earlier it might have given Patton a chance to come back and win the game, but the Trojans held on to win 44-36.

 

[FreedomAlum]

Up to Boone last night for Freedom vs. Watauga. The girls game was a rout as the Lady Pioneers beat the Lady Patriots by 30 points. The way it was going by halftime I am just grateful that it wasn't a running clock. The Lady Pats continue with their offensive troubles and I think they might be starting to spiral out of control. They have some winnable games left, but until they figure out how to put it in the basket they are going to continue to struggle.
I wasn't surprised that Watauga won the girl's game, but I was surprised at how well the Pioneer boys played and that they beat the Patriots. Watauga won 98-80 and pushed the tempo all night, something that I would have though was certain to backfire. They made 14 threes and came up with a big shot whenever Freedom made a run. I can't say who played a good game for Freedom; Amore Connelly and Philly Harris both played hard but neither was at his best. I expected the Patriots to roll through their conference, so this one came as a something of a shock.

 

[FreedomAlum]

I Followed the Patriots to Taylorsville tonight to watch them take on Alexander Central. The girl's game was just more of the same for the Lady Patriots in the first half. But they came out with some fire in the second half, cut the lead to single digits at one point and played much better. They still lost by 17 or so, but I saw signs of improvement in how they played.
In the boy's game Freedom jumped out to an early 7-0 lead and I don't think the Cougars ever got much closer than that (maybe down to six at one point). Freedom was in control for most of the game and I give them a solid B+ for this one. Philly Harris was playing tough defense on their best player and Gavin McNaughton and Dyson Dellinger had much better games than on Tuesday. It looks like the nagging ankle injury is bothering Amore Connelly, but he played very well in spurts. I think it was important for the Patriots to bounce back from their loss to Watauga and it seemed like they came out with that in mind and played up to their potential.

 

[Maiden Creek]

Up to Boone last night for Freedom vs. Watauga. The girls game was a rout as the Lady Pioneers beat the Lady Patriots by 30 points. The way it was going by halftime I am just grateful that it wasn't a running clock. The Lady Pats continue with their offensive troubles and I think they might be starting to spiral out of control. They have some winnable games left, but until they figure out how to put it in the basket they are going to continue to struggle.
I wasn't surprised that Watauga won the girl's game, but I was surprised at how well the Pioneer boys played and that they beat the Patriots. Watauga won 98-80 and pushed the tempo all night, something that I would have though was certain to backfire. They made 14 threes and came up with a big shot whenever Freedom made a run. I can't say who played a good game for Freedom; Amore Connelly and Philly Harris both played hard but neither was at his best. I expected the Patriots to roll through their conference, so this one came as a something of a shock.

Watauga boys beats Freedom Tuesday night…then loses to Ashe County last night!

In the words of Vince Lombardi…”what the hell is going on out there?”😂

Northwestern 3a/4a conference standings

Freedom 4-1
Alexander Central 3-2
South Caldwell 3-2
Watauga 3-2
Hibriten 1-4
Ashe County 1-4