Aldridge's two free throws lift Gardner-Webb past Presbyterian in emotional Big South quarterfinal

 

Gardner-Webb's Quest Aldridge sank the eventual game-winning free throws in Friday's quarterfinal victory. (Photo:  Big South Conference)

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HIGH POINT, N.C. – Trevon Reddish-Rhone paused for a moment, lowered his head, tapped his hands together, and gathered himself, trying to sum up his career and four years of his life when asked to do so.

Then, he formed his words and spoke like the leader he has become under the tutelage of Blue Hose coach Quinton Ferrell.

“PC is really my home,” Reddish-Rhone said. “I met (Ferrell) during high school recruitment, when he was at College of Charleston. We built a spectacular relationship. It was more than just basketball. He always asked how I was doing in school and how my family was doing. Everybody (at PC) is welcoming. Staff, fans, and teammates. I’ve had a plethora of teammates.”

“It got hard. Some have left. I’ve been one of the ones who have stayed. Me and Coach have stayed, trying to build a foundation and build a culture. We were just trying to make history, man. We were just trying to put PC on the map. That’s something I’ve always tried to do. I don’t want PC to be looked at as just a school that you run through. PC’s home to me. It will always be home to me.”

Reddish-Rhone’s sixth-seeded Blue Hose had just fallen, 61-60, to third-seeded Gardner-Webb on two free throws from Quest Aldridge. Presbyterian had led by as many as nine points in the game and was in search of just its second quarterfinal round victory in the school’s Division 1 era. The result hit Ferrell – and Reddish-Rhone – hard. Ferrell reflected on Reddish-Rhone’s career and the strides his team made this season.

“I definitely wanted to get this win for Trevon Reddish, who’s been with me the whole time since I’ve been here, the last four years,” Ferrell said. “He’s given blood, sweat, and tears to this program. We’ve always talked about moving this program forward and we did that this year. Another big goal was advancing in the conference tournament, and obviously we came up short.”

“Overall, I’m just proud of the guys on this journey. They dealt with a ton of adversity throughout the season. Guys were battling, growing, and getting closer. I’m just really appreciative of my guys and the way they fought through the entire season to the end.”

The heartbreak from Presbyterian was countered the jubilation – if not a little relief – from Gardner-Webb coach Tim Craft. The Runnin’ Bulldogs had faced a pair of one-point losses in the two tournaments prior, falling to Upstate on a Jordan Gainey buzzer-beater in 2023 and Campbell in a one-point decision in 2022. Craft addressed the emotions after the game.

“It felt bad last year, I can tell you that,” Craft said. “It’s great to advance and survive and move on. This is our fourth game in a row that we’ve won really in the last possession. I just think that gives our guys in the locker room great confidence. It’s special for these guys to have that kind of belief and that kind of confidence in themselves and their teammates. I think that’s a huge deal going down the stretch here, is that in crunch time we’ve been really good here the last four games.”

Aldridge, who hails from nearby Winston-Salem and attended Mount Tabor High School, seized the opportunity to give his team the winning margin in front of a supportive crowd from his nearby hometown.

“I tried not to think about anything and just feel like I was by myself,” Aldridge said. “I know my teammates trust me to knock those free throws down and I have a lot of faith in myself, as well. I knew I had to go up there and knock those down. There was no other option.”

“I had my own little student section here tonight. It felt good to do that back at home.”

As for coming back from being down nine?

“We’ve been in a lot of situations,” guard Julien Soumaoro said. “We’ve been in games down 22 or 16 with limited time left and just came back and won. It’s like, what’s single digits? There was never any panic. Nobody was really head down or panicking. It was like, ‘We’re going to win this game.’ That’s what we did.”

Back on Reddish-Rhone, he leaves an obvious legacy with the Presbyterian program.

“It’s going to be all over the place,” Ferrell said of Reddish-Rhone’s imprint. “The thing I didn’t know at the time (of recruiting) was the changing landscape of how quickly things would change in college basketball, which has drastically impacted our college in different ways than other schools.”

“Even with that being said, our program is on a great foundation thanks to guys like Trevon and (former forward) Owen McCormack and just the hard work and sacrifice and belief that they’ve had in me and my vision for what we could make PC. I think we’re just starting to see the fruits of that labor. Even though those guys won’t be out there in uniform won’t be with us, they’ll be in the building with us moving forward, as long as I’m the head coach here.”

“I can’t thank Trevon enough. Any coach in the country would love to have a Trevon Reddish in their locker room. He’s the ultimate teammate. He only cares about winning. He preached everything that I said when I wasn’t around to anybody in the program and always had my back.”

Ferrell closed by mentioning the impact his senior leader has had on him as a coach.

“Trevon’s a guy – we will be locked in for the rest of his life. I can’t wait to watch him get married one day and have his own family and all those things that will be on the horizon for him. I’m just really thankful that God blessed me with a player like Trevon.”

Presbyterian finishes the season with a 14-18 record. Gardner-Webb advances to Saturday’s second Big South tournament semifinal to do battle with second-seeded Asheville. Tip time is set for approximately 2:30, with streaming coverage available via ESPN+.