‘We let them slip.’ Ardrey Kell loses late lead, shot at first NCHSAA state title
Ardrey Kell was really, really close to winning its first state basketball championship Saturday. And then, somehow, it got away from the Knights.
Ardrey Kell lost to Raleigh’s MIllbrook High 67-65 in overtime Saturday after being up by four points in the final 30 seconds.
Millbrook (19-0) won its first state championship. Ardrey Kell (10-1), which lost in the 2015 final to Garner, was again denied a state title.
“We’re kind of shell-shocked right now,” Ardrey Kell coach Mike Craft said. “We had a 65-61 lead and we didn’t finish the game.”
Ardrey Kell (10-1) will probably play the “what-If” game about the final minute for a long time, but one statistic that should stand out is this one:
The Knights shot 9-for-17 from free-throw line for the game. Millbrook (19-0) made 16-of-18.
“In the locker room,” Craft said, “I told them how proud I was of them, how resilient they’ve been all year. It’s unfortunate that we didn’t finish the game. You have to give (Millbrook) credit. They did not quit. They have won three straight overtime games. They’ve had a knack for winning close games. I thought we had the, but we let them slip.”
As Craft noted, Ardrey Kell led 65-61 with less than 30 seconds to play in overtime. But on their next two possessions, the Knights missed four straight free throws.
Millbrook junior Silas Demary made four on the other end: two with 17.2 seconds left, then two more with 10 seconds remaining to tie the score. And as a Ardrey Kell player tried to go up the court, Demary stole the ball from him, laid it up and broke the Knights’ collective heart with four seconds on the clock.
As heartbroken as the Knights obviously were, the MIllbrook team was equally as ecstatic.
“So it means everything in the world to me,” said Millbrook star Eric van der Heidjen, a Louisville commit who had 21 points, three rebounds and three assists. “This, by far, is one of the best moments of my life, like really. It means everything.”
Van der Heijden fouled out near the end of regulation and had to watch in overtime as his teammates, led by Demary (22 points, seven rebounds, three assists) made the late rally.
“We work on time and score so much (in practice),” Millbrook coach Christopher Davis said. “I don’t know if you noticed, we’re never nervous about those things. We continue to play through it, so we feel like until the horn sounds, we’ve got a chance.”
Ardrey Kell’s Craft said his team’s goal was to limit high-scoring Millbrook to 60 points or less, and until the final seconds, he felt the Knights were doing a good job.
The Knights got big games from Knoah Carver (21 points, five rebounds), Elijah Gray (18 points, 11 rebounds, four assists) and Peyton Gerald (14 points, three rebounds).
Ardrey Kell just didn’t get the finish it wanted.
“Before the playoffs,” Carver said, “I had a death (in my family). My uncle passed away from COVID-related symptoms. So really, throughout these playoffs, I have not been able to think about that. I’ve been locked in, trying to win. So after the game, that was the first thing that hit me. I mean, this is over. I know Coach Craft is going through some things, and I know this is really important to all of us.
“My mind is heavy right now. But I’m trying to stay cool.”
Game Summary
Ardrey Kell 15 9 25 10 6 — 65
Millbrook 10 21 14 14 8 — 67
ARDREY KELL 65 — Smith 8, Knoah Carver 21, Nelson 4, Peyton Gerald 14, Elijah Gray 18
MILLBROOK 67 — Silas Demary 22, Daniels 6, Redford Dunton 10, Eric van der Heijden 21, Jordan 6, Pettis 2
