CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Anytime Bradley Central and Cleveland square off there's excitement and Friday's crosstown clash was no exception as the Bears rallied late to hand the Runnin' Raiders their first loss of the young season.
After a tooth-and-nail opening period, Cleveland took control, building a double-digit lead early in the third period before the Bradley battled back to take the last of nine lead changes with 80 seconds to go pull out the 54-51 win.
The night's opening varsity matched had been billed as a battle of 2024 TSSAA Final Four teams, but with the Lady Raiders losing their third starter to injury last weekend, and all five starters returning from last year's second straight state championship, the nationally-ranked Bearettes rolled to their 23rd straight victory over their rivals in a 72-34 blow out.
Both programs will take the weekend off before getting back to action Tuesday as Bradley opens District 6-4A play at Ooltewah, while the Raiders travel to Chattanooga Prep for a boys-only matchup.
On Friday, the Bear squads will host county-rival Walker Valley, while the Lady Raiders travel to Silverdale Baptist Academy for a rematch of the Silverdale Thanksgiving Invitational championship game.
In the boys game, Bradley (5-1) roared out to a 9-3 edge to open the contest, but Cleveland (3-1) took command with an 11-2 streak with Andrew Miolen drilling a trio of baskets.
Bear Andrew Walker put in a shot from lane with 10 ticks left to cut the difference to 14-13 at the first buzzer.
Senior Tyrese Stovall put the Black-and-Gold back in front with the only two field goals in the opening five minutes of the second period.
Once again, the Raiders responded with an 8-0 run to take a lead they would hold until three minutes into the final frame.
The 6-foot-8 Stovall, who finished with a double-double of 20 points, 15 rebounds and a half dozen blocks, put back in an offensive rebound for the final score of the first half, giving Cleveland a slim 22-19 intermission edge.
The Raiders raced out of the locker rooms for an 11-4 streak, including a couple of Miolen 3-balls and a steal of an inbounds pass and quick bucket by senior transfer Tim Matthews, to open the second half, pushing the difference to 33-23.
Bradley responded with the game's next five points, including one of a trio of Stovall slam dunks.
Raider Devin Armstrong pushed the lead back to seven points with a second-chance basket before Bradley was able trim the deficit to just a single point with a six unanswered markers, including Stovall putting back in an offensive rebound.
After a Barak Ndegwa long-range bomb, Stovall slammed home another offensive rebound to cut the difference to 38-36 at the end of the third period.
After the teams traded 3-pointers to open the final frame, Matthews put the hosts back up by five with an old fashioned three-point play before the visitors went on a 11-0 spurt for a six-point advantage.
After Cleveland called a pair of timeouts in a 38-second span, the Raiders answered with seven straight points to regain the lead with 1:36 on the clock.
Bear senior captain Ramerion Taylor stepped up to seal the come-from-behind victory with a driving basket at the 80-second mark and a pair of free throws with 20 ticks remaining.
Taylor finished with 11 points, three assists and a "swat."
Senior Caiden Bauldwin finished with 10 points, eight caroms and five helps in his first exposure to the local rivalry. Senior Hunter Fields helped out with a pair of 3-pointers.
While Miolen topped the hosts with 18 points, including a trio or treys, and three steals, Matthews garnered 12 points, five "dimes" and a trio of swipes, plus a couple of blocks in his first Cleveland-Bradley game.
Senior Maguire Evans helped out with eight points, with a couple of "long balls," three thefts and a pair of assists. Ndewga drilled 2-of-3 from long distance and cleared five ricochets.
While the Bears won the backboard battle by a 41-23 margin, the Raiders turned the ball over just nine times, compared to 18 for the visitors.
Bradley made 20-of-37 (54%) from beyond the arc, but were just 3-for-11 (27.3%) beyond it, while Cleveland made 9-of-26 (34.6%) from distance, but only 10-for-30 (33.3%) from close range.
Bradley Central girls 72, Cleveland 34: With Cleveland short-handed, the outcome was never in doubt as Bradley netted the game's first 10 points on its way to a 19-3 edge at the first horn.
The Bearettes did the same, netting the first 10 points of the second frame before Cleveland was able to slow the onslaught with a brief 6-2 spurt.
The back-to-back state champions closed out the frame with a 12-6 run to take a 43-15 edge into the half.
After just an 18-13 third period difference, Bradley was able to set off the "running clock" when Arkansas signee Harmonie Ware posted an old fashioned three-point play with 6:26 remaining.
Ware, who won the TSSAA State Tournament MVP in March, finished with 15 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, plus she copped five of the 17 Bearette thefts.
Miss Tennessee Basketball finalist Kimora Fields topped all scorers with 24 points, hitting 11-of-15 shots from the field, plus she swiped a half dozen steals, grabbed five rebounds and blocked a shot.
Kennesaw State signee Tatianna Stovall helped out with 15 points as well, making 6-of-9 field goals and going 3-for-5 at the charity stripe, plus she pulled down five caroms, "swatted" a pair of Lady Raider attempts and had two steals.
Senior Alliyah Osborn came off the bench for eight points on 3-of-5 shooting, including a pair from distance, plus had dished out a trio of assists.
Samford signee Avary Brewer finished with seven markers, five "dimes," four boards and a couple of thefts.
Walters State signee Malia Wilcox drained a 3-pointer on her only shot, handed out five helps, had two "swipes" and a pair of ricochets.
Senior Emma Smith topped the home-team effort, netting nearly half of their points with with 16 total, including a couple from long distance, plus she cleaned the glass for seven rebounds.
Junior point guard Illinias Rodriguez, a 2024 All-State Tournament honoree, helped out with half dozen markers, three assists, two steals abd a couple of caroms.
Sophomore Laney Copeland netted five points, including a trey, while Addy Gravelle came off the bench for four points, draining both of her shots, and four rebounds.
The stingy Bearette "D" forced 24 turnovers, which turned into 37 points, and held the hosts to just 29 total shots, making 11 (37.9%), but Cleveland was 7-for-9 at the charity stripe.
Bradley made 23-of-34 shots (67.6%) in front of the 19-foot line and were 6-for-16 (37.5%) beyond it, but just 8-of-13 (61.5%) at the foul line.
GAME SUMMARIES
Girls Game
|
BRADLEY CENTRAL
|
19
|
24
|
18
|
11
|
--72
|
|
CLEVELAND
|
3
|
12
|
13
|
6
|
--34
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BRADLEY CENTRAL (72) — Kimora Fields 24, Harmonie Ware 15, Tatianna Stovall 15, Alliyah Osborn 8, Avary Brewer 7, Wilcox, Stewart, Broome.
CLEVELAND (34) — Emma Smith 16, Illinias Rodriguez 6, Laney Copeland 5, Gravelle 4, Huffman 3, I. Smith, Davis, A. Bradford.
3-point goals: Bradley Central 6 (Osborn 2, Ware 2, Brewer, Wilcox): Cleveland 5 (E. Smith 2, Rodriguez, Copeland, Huffman).
Free throws: Bradley Central 8-of-13: Cleveland 7-of-9.
Records: Bradley Central 6-0: Cleveland 6-2.
Boys Game
|
BRADLEY CENTRAL
|
13
|
6
|
17
|
18
|
--54
|
|
CLEVELAND
|
14
|
8
|
16
|
13
|
--51
|
BRADLEY CENTRAL (54) — Tyrese Stovall 20, Ramerion Taylor 11, Caiden Bauldwin 10, Hunter Fields 6, Walker 4, Ary 3, K. Butts, Cannon.
CLEVELAND (51) — Andrew Miolen 18, Tim Matthews 12, Maguire Evans 8, Barak Ndegwa 6, Armstrong 4, Reinbold 3, Westfield, Krepps.
3-point goals: Bradley Central 3 (Fields 2, Ary): Cleveland 9 (Miolen 3, Ndegwa 2, Evans 2, Matthews, Reinbold).
Free throws: Bradley Central 5-of-9: Cleveland 4-of-8.
Records: Bradley Central 5-1: Cleveland 3-1.