Late lead evaporates in first Freedom boys’ loss
But ultimately, the Patriots showed they belong in the state title contender conversation, leading Greensboro Day the whole way until 2:24 left in a 74-68 loss, their first of the season. The contest capped the third annual Hoop Cities Invitational Showcase hosted by Winston-Salem Prep.
Freedom (10-1) led by nine points with 5 minutes left before Bengals sophomore guard Carson McCorkle, an early Virginia commit expected to re-classify to the class of 2020, led the comeback.
McCorkle (game-high 26 points; 18 in second half) hit a 3-pointer to make it 64-60 with 4:17 left. His next 3 gave Greensboro Day its first lead at 65-64, and after the Patriots climbed back ahead on two Michael Logan free throws, McCorkle’s baseline 3 with 1:50 left gave the Bengals the lead for good at 68-66.
“They’ve won ‘x’ number of private school state championships, and they play a nationally-ranked schedule every year, and they’re really good. And so are we. That’s what we can take away from it,” Freedom coach Casey Rogers said.
“We fought and put ourselves in a position where could win, a night after a grind-it-out rivalry game (vs. Hickory), coming an hour and a half down the road against a team that’s really physical.”
Freedom led 7-0 early, with a James Freeman wing 3 later giving the Patriots their first double-digit lead at 21-11 and Jakari Dula scoring 13 of the team’s first 23 points. The margin swelled to 13 points twice in the opening half and was 38-29 at halftime.
Greensboro Day climbed within 49-48, but Freedom ended the third period on a 7-0 scoring run to regain control.
The Patriots still led 62-52 on a Fletcher Abee three-point play on an elbow jumper over McCorkle with just over 6 minutes left before a 16-2 spurt fueled by McCorkle proved to be the difference.
Dula scored 20 points, Abee added 18 with two steals and two blocked shots on McCorkle jumpers and Freeman scored 15 with four rebounds and a team-high four assists despite playing through foul trouble
Aidan Pearson scored six first-half points and finished with eight rebounds against a front line featuring four players 6-foot-7 and over, and Logan scored nine, all after halftime as he picked up three fouls in the game’s first 10 minutes.
“Some early foul trouble kind of put us in some difficult spots,” Rogers added. “But we fought and defended, led most of the game. … We’re just worried about us. We have a chance to be really good. And I think we’re headed in the right direction.”
Paul Schenkel can be reached at pschenkel@morganton.com or 828-432-8950
- PAUL SCHENKEL…Morganton News Herald
- Jan 6, 2019 Updated 6 hrs ago
But ultimately, the Patriots showed they belong in the state title contender conversation, leading Greensboro Day the whole way until 2:24 left in a 74-68 loss, their first of the season. The contest capped the third annual Hoop Cities Invitational Showcase hosted by Winston-Salem Prep.
Freedom (10-1) led by nine points with 5 minutes left before Bengals sophomore guard Carson McCorkle, an early Virginia commit expected to re-classify to the class of 2020, led the comeback.
McCorkle (game-high 26 points; 18 in second half) hit a 3-pointer to make it 64-60 with 4:17 left. His next 3 gave Greensboro Day its first lead at 65-64, and after the Patriots climbed back ahead on two Michael Logan free throws, McCorkle’s baseline 3 with 1:50 left gave the Bengals the lead for good at 68-66.
“They’ve won ‘x’ number of private school state championships, and they play a nationally-ranked schedule every year, and they’re really good. And so are we. That’s what we can take away from it,” Freedom coach Casey Rogers said.
“We fought and put ourselves in a position where could win, a night after a grind-it-out rivalry game (vs. Hickory), coming an hour and a half down the road against a team that’s really physical.”
Freedom led 7-0 early, with a James Freeman wing 3 later giving the Patriots their first double-digit lead at 21-11 and Jakari Dula scoring 13 of the team’s first 23 points. The margin swelled to 13 points twice in the opening half and was 38-29 at halftime.
Greensboro Day climbed within 49-48, but Freedom ended the third period on a 7-0 scoring run to regain control.
The Patriots still led 62-52 on a Fletcher Abee three-point play on an elbow jumper over McCorkle with just over 6 minutes left before a 16-2 spurt fueled by McCorkle proved to be the difference.
Dula scored 20 points, Abee added 18 with two steals and two blocked shots on McCorkle jumpers and Freeman scored 15 with four rebounds and a team-high four assists despite playing through foul trouble
Aidan Pearson scored six first-half points and finished with eight rebounds against a front line featuring four players 6-foot-7 and over, and Logan scored nine, all after halftime as he picked up three fouls in the game’s first 10 minutes.
“Some early foul trouble kind of put us in some difficult spots,” Rogers added. “But we fought and defended, led most of the game. … We’re just worried about us. We have a chance to be really good. And I think we’re headed in the right direction.”
Paul Schenkel can be reached at pschenkel@morganton.com or 828-432-8950
