Hunter Huss plays keep away from Freedom, advances to regional

GASTONIA — High school basketball might have to introduce a shot clock if Hunter Huss keeps this up.

Ahead three, the Huskies held the ball — literally — for a 3 1/2-minute stretch in the fourth quarter and eventually pulled out a 51-45 sectional final victory over Freedom on Friday.

The Huskies (23-3) advance to a 3A Western Regional semifinal Tuesday at UNC Greensboro’s Fleming Gym. Their specific matchup and game time will be announced today or Sunday.

Hunter Huss took an unconventional approach on its way to Greensboro.

Leading 48-45 with 5:30 remaining, Hunter Huss put the ball in the hands of Jarvis Anderson just past half court, and he stood there, tempting Freedom to come out of its zone defense.

The Patriots were just as stubborn.

Freedom coach Casey Rogers directed his team to stay back in the zone it had played all game until the two-minute mark. Until then, Anderson hugged the ball and all 10 players stood where they were.

“I was like, ‘This is boring.’ I was ready for them to play defense,” Anderson said.

Meanwhile, fans on both sides rose to their feet and erupted into some of their biggest applause of the night in a bizarre moment.

“I knew we were going to win then because I knew they couldn’t guard us in man,” Hunter Huss’ T.J. Wilson said.

After Freedom switched to a man-to-man defense, Hunter Huss ran its stall offense for 55 seconds. But the plan nearly backfired.

After the Patriots committed their fourth and fifth team fouls, Hunter Huss turned it over on a bad inbound pass.

But Freedom couldn’t get off a shot on the other end and wound up turning it over on a five-second inbound call after a timeout.

Wilson hit a free throw for Hunter Huss, Freedom missed on the other end, then Sterling Mack’s follow on a fast break closed it out.

Hunter Huss coach Ron Bray said his team worked on its stall offense in practice Thursday. During most of the 3 1/2-minute stall, Bray calmly sat on the bench.

“Hey, I was resting,” he said.

Rogers didn’t mind the stall because he considered his team the underdog. Freedom (18-11) entered as the South Mountain’s No. 1 seed but finished in third place in the SMAC behind a pair of 2A teams. The Patriots lost 96 percent of their scoring from last year’s 26-4 team.

“At the start of the year, nobody gave us much of a chance to even get to the playoffs, let alone get to a sectional final against a legit state title contender,” Rogers said. “In my mind, I thought if I could take that thing down to where a possession decides it, then I thought that’s what was best for us.”

Jihad Wright scored 19 and Wilson 15 for Hunter Huss. Jontavian Hall finished with only four points but, still nursing a sprained ankle, was content to pass to open teammates much of the night.

Hunter Huss will make its fifth Western regional appearance and first since 2006, when it lost in the regional semifinals to Parkwood 82-75 at Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem.

“I’m excited about it for us,” Bray said. “You just hope you can win another game now. I think we’ll be better prepared in the regional.”

Hunter Huss will join West Rowan (20-6), Concord (25-5) and Lenoir Hibriten (19-9) in the 3A Western Regional. The N.C. High School Athletic Association reseeds the brackets after the sectional final round. Tuesday’s games are scheduled for 7 and 8:30 p.m. The winners will meet Saturday at the Greensboro Coliseum Special Events Center for the regional championship and a spot in the state title game.

Raymond Beam scored 16 and Jordan Jacotine 12 for Freedom.

You can reach Phillip Gardner at 704-869-1843.