It was a roller coaster weekend for the Bradford High boys
basketball team as the Owls went from winning by 36 points over
Punxsutawney on Friday night to losing by just one point to
Mercyhurst Prep less than 24 hours later.
The Lakers came into the Pitt Bradford Sport & Fitness
Center and showed their mettle in rallying to defeat Bradford 46-45
in overtime.
It looked like a rout may have been on once again when the Owls
opened up a 13-2 lead midway through the first quarter on the
strength of eight points from Ben Lanich.
But in the final two minutes of the stanza, Prep’s Brian Badders
executed a power lay-up on the baseline for a 13-5 score and with
five seconds left Joe Jelinek netted a baseline shot to make it
13-7.
The Lakers just kept swimming in the second quarter and closed
within four at the 5:32 mark on a rainbow jumper by Derek
Crane-Huston.
Senior guard Tom Morris executed a creative, heads-up pass to
Dan Vecellio across the paint for a 17-11 lead before the visitors
would heat up from deep.
The clock read 4:50 when Nick Arrigo nailed a long-range bomb,
although Morris would answer with a step-back three of his own on
the next possession.
Crane-Huston found the mark from beyond the arc to keep the
deficit three, 20-17.
The Lakers made it a two-point game as Vecellio and Morris
doubled down on Thurman Schaetzle and he kicked it out to
Crane-Huston for the three.
Ryan LaBrozzi and Corey Husband swapped baskets and it was 24-22
Owls at the half.
“Early in the game we really looked good,” commented Dave
Fuhrman, Owls coach. “We were doing some nice things offensively
and then we got away from those things.
“Their (Mercyhurst’s) second string played from midway through
the first to midway through the second and we didn’t extend the
lead. Their second group worked their way back into the game. That
was huge.
“We really had a chance to bury them and take control of the
game and we didn’t do it.”
The Lakers outscored BHS 9-5 in a slow-paced third and took the
lead at 29-27 on a trifecta by Sam Hvezda. The Owls trailed 31-29
heading into the final eight minutes of regulation.
The Owls were 7-for-8 from the free throw line in the quarter
and led the game with 16 ticks to go when Prep used a timeout to
set its strategy.
The ball ended up in the hands of Brian Badders who purchased a
bus ticket to the basket for the tie.
In the extra minutes, Bradford turned the ball over on its first
two trips, allowing the Lakers a 44-42 lead.
Drew Kelly made one of two from the line and Vecellio canned two
freebies for a 45-44 edge.
Mercyhurst was once again able to call a timeout and set one
final play to try to win the game.
Husband wound up with the ball on the right wing, spun into the
lane and made the shot with a hand in his face for the 46-45
triumph.
“(Husband) had two buckets the whole game,” Fuhrman observed.
“He took Drew (Kelly) into the lane and Drew got a hand up, he
played good defense, and the kid made a good shot.
“It was a tough loss, but we had our opportunities to win the
game,” Fuhrman admitted.
“We turned the ball over the first two times in overtime and you
don’t get any shots out of that.”
The Owls were able to get 46 shots in the game, but converted
only 15 of those for 33 percent effort. The hosts were just
2-for-16 from behind the line.
“Our perimeter shooting has not been good and we can’t create a
lot of points with our defense like we have in years passed,”
Fuhrman said.
“Mercyhurst is a very good defensive team and I knew it would be
a good test for us offensively.”
Lanich led the Owls with a double-double of 16 points and 14
rebounds, while Vecellio added 10 points and nine boards.
Morris dished out five assists and LaBrozzi helped out four
times.
Despite a 2-5 mark on the young season, Fuhrman says the team
will stay patient.
“I’d rather lose these kinds of games in December and win them
in January, February and March. Hopefully, we’re learning some
things. We’re so close. It’s a funny game.”
Bradford returns to District 9 League play Tuesday when they
travel to Brookville for a clash with the Raiders.
