Freedom boys clinch 24th regular-season league title in program history
Freedom senior guard Kaden Davis (1) gets in the paint to shoot over several McDowell defenders in this Jan. 23 file photo. The Patriots on Tuesday clinched the Northwestern 6A/7A Conference regular-season title in outright fashion, the program’s 24th regular-season title all-time.
The Freedom boys basketball team is back on top.
Three players hit double figures as the Patriots reassumed what some might call their rightful place atop the Northwestern 6A/7A Conference by virtue of Tuesday’s 81-60 road win over Alexander Central.
It was Freedom’s first NWC regular-season title since the 2022-23 season and represents its 24th league regular-season crown spanning the program’s 53 total seasons.
“That’s a goal,” said Freedom coach Clint Zimmerman, “but where we are right now, we don’t feel like the job’s finished yet.”
Senior Kobe Johnson and junior King Johnson combined to score 13 of Freedom’s 19 first-period points as the guests opened a 19-12 lead after one period and never looked back. The Patriots led 38-30 at the half and 66-49 at the end of the third quarter.
Kobe Johnson finished 4 for 5 at the free-throw line and scored a team-high 18 points, while King Johnson (15 points) and Julius Dominguez (10 points) both made three 3-pointers as FHS made nine as a team in the victory.
Five more Freedom players — Daivyon Feaster-Hicks, Kaden Davis, KeAndre Davis, Nate Surratt, and Amare Williams — scored at least six points each in a balanced effort as the Patriots overcame losing starter Jaden Watkins to an injury early in the contest.
Zimmerman said that Watkins, who is the team’s third leading scorer at over 10 points per game, will not be out for an extended period of time.
“We defended at a high level, and we offensive-rebounded very well, especially in the first, third, and fourth quarters,” Zimmerman noted. “And then we had some guys come off the bench who played really well. Jaden went down on the tip, and Julius, KeAndre, and Amare really stepped up when he went down and did a good job filling in for his production.”
Freedom (17-5, 8-1 NWC) had also won its two most recent games before that, ending last week with a 59-40 win over South Caldwell on Feb. 6 followed by a 64-47 win over St. Stephens on Feb. 7, both of which were played at FHS’ Crump-Rogers Gym.
The Patriots trailed the Spartans early at 8-5 before an ensuing 12-2 scoring run gave Freedom the lead for good. A Williams trey with 2:15 remaining in the third period lifted the hosts to a 34-24 edge, and their lead remained in double digits the rest of the way.
Watkins scored a game-high 16 points and paced Freedom with a pair of blocks, while King Johnson added 14 points to go with team-highs of six rebounds and five assists, and Dominguez added 11 points.
Kobe Johnson scored eight with five rebounds and a team-leading three steals while also locking down South’s Carter Anderson defensively to the tune of just two points by the South star.
The Patriots then sleepwalked through an early opening half — the game started at noon last Saturday — and led last-place St. Stephens just 25-21 through two periods before a 23-14 third-period edge created some breathing room.
Williams and Kobe Johnson (game-high 13 points) combined for more than half of FHS’ points in the pivotal frame with six apiece before King Johnson (10 points) scored six points in the fourth to carry the hosts across the finish line.
Watkins and Williams finished with nine points apiece, and Feaster-Hicks and Kaden Davis both added six.
Then after clinching with the win over the Cougars, Freedom dropped its first league contest on Wednesday at Watauga, 75-59. The Patriots trailed 20-12 after one period, then after stabilizing things to keep the deficit at 32-25 at halftime, lost control as the Pioneers outscored them 25-14 in the third period.
Again playing without Watkins, Kobe Johnson led Freedom with 16 points while King Johnson and KeAndre Davis added nine each. Feaster-Hicks scored eight, and Williams added seven.
Freedom girls senior Ava Cooke (5) shoots from close-range against Hickory in this Jan. 21 file photo.
Lady Patriots drop three of four
The Freedom girls defeated St. Stephens, 48-25, one day after failing to complete a sweep of South Caldwell in a 50-37 home setback.
The Lady Patriots (9-14, 3-6 NWC) then lost to both Alexander Central, 70-37, and to Watauga, 52-39, as they currently occupy a tie for fourth place in the six-team conference.
Freedom never led South, trailing 13-4 early but staying within single digits until a South 3 to make it 35-25 with 1:25 left in the third period, after which the margin remained at 10-plus points the rest of the way.
Cynica Caldwell paced Freedom with 14 points (12 in the second half) to go with her five rebounds and two assists. Fellow senior Ava Cooke added 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds, and Caylyn Taylor came off the bench for one of her best games of the year, posting seven points and five rebounds.
Aniah Queen led FHS with three steals and joined Caldwell and Alayhia Bates with two assists.
Cooke then nailed three 3s and poured in a game-high 20 points in the Lady Patriot win over Saint, while Taylor stayed hot with 13 and Caldwell added 10.
Kaitlyn Hagmann posted 11 points and Caldwell added seven in the team’s loss in Taylorsville before Cooke (12 points), Hagmann (11), and Caldwell (nine) led the way in the loss in Boone. Hagmann made three 3s in both of those contests.
