The Bradley Central Bears’ basketball programs both came out of Tuesday’s trip to Chattanooga Christian School with a win. The girls’ team lit up the scoreboard winning, 100-64, while the boys’ team found themselves in a late-game nail bitter edging out a win at, 72-68.
Standing at just over 6’ 6’’, Tyrese Stovall a forward for the Bradley Central Bears, did his best impression of Superman, as he floated up in the air for a late fourth-quarter dunk. Stovall with his head above the rim pursued to throw the ball down into the basket, which would ignite the Bradley fans into pure pandemonium.
The highlight dunk would set the score at a five-point Bradley advantage with just under two minutes remaining. Chattanooga Christian like they had all day refused to lay down and chose to break through the adversity with a lightning-bottle 4-0 run. The quick spurt of a run was led by two seniors on the roster, Dre Jackson and Zachary Wescher. The two would both put in layups and cut the Bears’ lead to just one at, 66-67.
Both teams throughout the game had been scrapping back and forth, diving on the ground for loose balls, and trading momentum blows throughout each and every quarter. Two players that set a standard for both of their respective teams were Holden Lyons, guard for CCS, and guard for Bradley Central, Alex Walker.
Lyons only netted in two points on the night but set a high defensive standard for his teammates to follow when he was on the court. His defensive intensity was felt every time he checked into the game. He was constantly flying around, and always giving his all on both sides of the ball. His effort on the defensive side spread to his teammates and it was a big reason they stayed in the game for all four quarters. Walker on the other hand just set the standard of not panicking under pressure. Walker had the ball in his hands in a lot of big moments and was able to stay calm, breathe, and set out and do what he needed to do to help his team win, Walker would walk away from Tuesday’s game as his team’s leading scorer, scoring a total of 23 points. His high-level play was vital in his team getting the edge in this contest.
Their efforts along with many other players’ efforts contributed to the score being just a one-point game with under 30 seconds to go. Upon a Bradley inbound CCS would guard and try to trap and get a steal. But with time ticking away head coach of CCS, Wes Moore, told his players to foul. This would send a big man of the Bears, Jackson Aury, to the line for two free throws. He would go on to miss the first and make the second, making the score, 68-66 Bradley.
CCS would come down the court and swing the ball into an open three-pointer for their sophomore shooter, Reid Conley, but it would just end up a little short. Bradley Central would go on to knock down a few free throws in the final seconds and seal this game away. Both teams showed great effort in this contest which contributed to a Tuesday night thriller.
Bradley Central girls 100, CCS 64: The Bearettes looked as if they have not missed a step after being crowned the 2022-2023 4A State Champs. In their Tuesday evening contest against a one-loss Chargers team, they put up triple-digits, scoring 100 points. Their high-scoring night was led by their bruiser of a forward, Kimora Fields, who racked up a game-high 35 points. Fields was doing damage in the paint not only in scoring but by grabbing a bucket full of rebounds.
Two of her teammates, Tatianna Stovall and Harmonie Ware, were also contributing mightily to giving the Lady Chargers problems on the glass and also in the paint scoring. The two Bears combined for 42 points on the night.
And despite the loss for the CCS girls’ team, two of their players still strung together strong performances. Momo Moore and Aubriyana Camp both scored in the 20s, with Moore ending the game with 24 and Camp ending it with 23. The two youngsters showed that they will not back down no matter who is standing on the other side of the court.
GIRLS SUMMARY
BRADLEY CENTRAL 24 20 23 33 -- 100
CCS 11 24 6 23 -- 64
BRADLEY CENTRAL (100) - Kimora Fields 35, Brewer 4, Phillips 5, Harmonie Ware 19, Tatianna Stovall 23, White 9, Geren 5
CHATTANOOGA CHRISTIAN (64) - Aubriyana Camp 23, Allen 1, Momo Moore 24, Lailani Hatten 12, Rainey 4
3-point goals: Bradley Central 6 (White 3, Ware 2, Phillips); CCS 5 (Camp 3, Moore 2)
Records: Bradley Central 7-0, 0-0; CCS 3-2, 0-0.
BOYS SUMMARY
BRADLEY CENTRAL 20 13 18 21 -- 72
CCS 11 18 22 17 -- 68
BRADLEY CENTRAL (72) - Rodgers 7, Dee Reid 13, Alex Walker 23, Martin 9, Taylor 4 Stovall 9, Ary 5
CCS (68) - Reid Conley 11, Dee Jackson 30, Wescher 9, Roddy 4, Lyons 2, Caiden Bauldwin 12
3-point goals: Bradley Central 1 (Walker); CCS 7 (Jackson 4, Wescher 2, Conley)
Records: Bradley Central 5-2, 0-0; CCS 3-4,0-0.
(Email Gray Deyo at sports@chattanoogan.com)