Patton’s Kyle Taylor (0) goes to the basket as Freedom’s Daivyon Feaster-Hicks (24) and Kobe Johnson (3) defend during the teams’ meeting at Patton on Dec. 19.
A change of venue and three and a half weeks of time made this season’s second and final chapter of the Freedom-Patton boys basketball rivalry much more interesting down the stretch.
But the outcome remained unchanged, with the Patriots surviving for a 76-74 road win on Dec. 19 after having beaten the Panthers by 31 points at home last month.
Freedom (6-2) scored the first seven points of the contest before Patton called timeout and responded with the next eight points, a harbinger of what was to come in the game of runs.
The Patriots never led by more than nine points — taking a 49-40 edge in the third period thanks to a 12-0 run.
The Panthers (6-4) used an ensuing 10-0 run to knot the score at 52-all on a Brady Davis free throw, then pulled ahead 63-60 with 6 minutes left on four straight Landry Duvall points and one Kyle Taylor free throw.
But Freedom enjoyed the last big scoring run, a 10-2 outburst fueled by baskets from King Johnson and Kobe Johnson, and never trailed after retaking a 68-65 lead.
Two Taylor free throws got Patton back within one in the final minute at 72-71, but Freedom hung on despite making just 4 of 8 free throws from that point on. There were eight lead changes and seven ties throughout the game.
“We made some big plays down the stretch,” Freedom seventh-year coach Clint Zimmerman said. “Jaden Watkins was really good tonight, and King Johnson was really good. We did a good job of holding our composure when they went on their runs.
“We still struggled to finish a little bit and really struggled on the glass. But down the stretch, we just found a way to win, and that’s what competing is. You just find whatever way it is to get the job done.”
Watkins scored a season-high 25 points for the Patriots, making three third-period 3-pointers and scoring 19 points after halftime. King Johnson added 23 points with a team-high five assists and three steals, Kobe Johnson joined that duo in double figures with 13 points, tacking on six rebounds, and Daivyon Feaster-Hicks supplied a game-high 10 rebounds.
Taylor led Patton with 19 points, five rebounds, and four assists, and Nathan Waters tallied 14 points with eight rebounds and eight assists in his latest near-triple-double effort, with Karson Kress and Olando Norman adding 12 points each.
Patton won the rebounding battle against the bigger Patriots by a 33-31 margin.
“We executed the plan, we just didn’t make shots down the stretch when we needed to,” Patton coach Dax Bostian said. “But we got great looks, and we got all the actions that we wanted to. … We played tough, we were great on the boards. We had a couple turnovers here or there, but nobody’s gonna have a perfect game.
“I’m so proud of my boys and how far we have come along, and I’m really excited to move forward with these guys because I think this game is gonna motivate us to be the team we can be.”
The Freedom boys had been blown out the night before at home by East Lincoln, 83-56.
Kobe Johnson scored 13 of his team-high 19 points in the opening half as the Patriots trailed 24-16 after one quarter and 47-33 at the half before a 22-9 third period widened the Mustangs’ lead and sealed the outcome.
Watkins added eight points in the loss, and the trio of King Johnson, KeAndre Davis, and Amare Williams scored six apiece.
Freedom’s Cynica Caldwell (15) gets to the basket off the dribble for a layup during her team’s Dec. 19 road win over Patton.
Lady Patriots end losing streak
The Freedom girls snapped a five-game losing streak — their longest in at least the last 20 seasons — as they won the Dec. 19 varsity opener against host Patton by a 50-24 margin.
The Lady Patriots (3-6) stifled Patton with their defense, allowing just one field goal and leading 14-4 at halftime, then got going offensively with 19 points in the third period followed by 17 in the fourth.
Freedom senior guard Cynica Caldwell nearly matched the Lady Panthers (3-7) by herself with 23 points (including 16 in the second half).
The Lady Patriots also got big contributions from Kaitlyn Hagmann (eight points, five rebounds, three steals), Ava Cooke (seven points, six rebounds), and Alayhia Bates (four points, game-high 11 rebounds, four steals), who came off the bench in the victory after having started a number of games.
Leah Clark’s 11-point, 10-rebound double-double paced the Lady Panthers, who made just 6 of 22 free throws in defeat.
Freedom’s girls fell the night before to East Lincoln, 57-39, despite Caldwell’s 13 points. Hagmann added nine points, Cooke had seven, and Simone Wright had six.
Both EB teams fall big on road
The Cavalier boys were looking for a second straight win and led host Alexander Central 25-20 through one period on Dec. 18 before the bottom fell out, leading to an 88-61 loss.
East Burke (1-8) was outscored 24-8 and 26-12 in the next two periods as the Cougars got hot from behind the arc, making 14 3-pointers in the contest.
The Cavaliers — who led by as much as eight late in the opening period — were outscored 24-4 in points off turnovers, outrebounded by a 44-36 margin, and committed 21 turnovers (to AC’s 11) in the loss.
Carter Bennett scored a career-high 19 points to lead EB, while Tyler Brown stayed hot with 16 points and Greyson Roberts joined them in double figures with 10 points. Luke Demiter added eight points and contributed team-highs of 10 rebounds and five assists.
The Lady Cavs (5-4) also lost big in Taylorsville, 59-32, as they trailed 47-19 by halftime and committed a whopping 30 turnovers.
Sarabeth Bradley led EB with her 10 points and nine rebounds, and Addie Brittain and Frankie Gwyn (team-high four assists) tallied six points apiece. Senior county leading girls scorer Belle Gwyn was limited to two points for EB.
Paul Schenkel can be reached at 828-445-8595 or paul@thepaper.media.
