BOYS BASKETBALL – Bradford 42, Elk County Catholic 39, OT
Bradford won its second consecutive overtime game and now sits alone atop the District 9 League standings.
The Owls, winners of six-straight games, got a pair of free throws late in OT from David Ackerman and Anthony Zimbardi to seal the win.
Elk County Catholic tried to hold the ball for a final shot with 1:20 left in regulation. Matt Yurkewicz, whose defense has been phenomenal to say the least, stole the ball with 2.1 seconds to go to thwart the attempt.
The Wilbers, Tyler and Mike, once again had solid games, scoring 14 and 13 points respectively.
The fact that this team is where it’s at right now, alone in first place in the league, is remarkable.
Not long ago, they were 2-7 and searching for an identity. They are now 8-7 and have found a calling card in the form of their tenacious man-to-man defense.
Coach Brian Hobbs is doing an incredible coaching job with this team and the players have bought in 100 percent. They are executing at a high-level right now, with lopsided losses to Olean, Warren and Mercyhurst Prep well in the rear view mirror.
They are one of the best stories in District 9 right now and look to keep it going on the road against a talented North East out of District 10 Friday.
GIRLS BASKETBALL – Bradford 48, Elk County Catholic 36
It wasn’t the best offensive game for Bradford this season, but it’s sure hard to argue that it wasn’t their best on the defensive end.
The Lady Owls forced 28 Elk County Catholic turnovers in handing the Lady Crusaders just their third loss of the season.
Kaserra Owens and Ali Rinfrette keyed the pressure, with seven and six steals respectively. Bradford switched to a 1-3-1 in the second half, which gave ECC problems and helped Bradford extend its lead.
Rinfrette and Alex Vinelli keyed a 12-6 fourth quarter run to put the game out of reach.
Haley Vinelli had an outstanding game, scoring a team-high 12 points and pulling down six rebounds, including several key offenisve putbacks. On a night when Bradford’s shots weren’t falling at their normal clip (40 percent), the younger Vinelli’s presence down low was huge.
Trailing 15-9 early in the second quarter, Bradford (14-1, 5-0) promptly went on a 12-0 spurt to close the half, capped off by a jumper from Rylee Lundgren. They held ECC (12-3, 3-2) without a bucket for the final 6:53 of the half.
It’s a mark of just how good this team is when they don’t play their best game and still beat one of the top teams in the district by double figures.
