Any basketball coach will tell you: once you get into late February and March, style points don’t count for much.
That was certainly the case on Wednesday night, as the Bradford boys downed Punxsutawney 37-30 in a game that was sloppy but hard-fought from beginning to end.
Despite a rough shooting night — including going just 2-for-13 (15 percent) from long-range — the Owls played stellar defense, which proved to be enough to lift them to a berth in the District 9 AAAA title game.
“I said to the guys before the game, ‘Defense is going to win us this game tonight,’” Owls coach Brian Hobbs said. “I knew that because I knew we might struggle a little bit adjusting to some of the things they do defensively. They do a good job of changing things up. It’s tough to simulate that in practice and give our guys an actual look at what that’ll be like.”
Bradford caused all sorts of mayhem underneath its own rim whenever Punxsy had the ball, leading to multiple turnovers in the early going.
Donny Pattison (six points) provided the only real spark on offense in the first quarter, converting on a couple of tough baskets. The first quarter would end with Bradford holding a 6-3 lead.
The Owls opened the second period on a 7-2 run boosted by five quick points from Adam Boyer, who hit a 3-pointer and that quickly followed it up with a fast-break layup.
Boyer would finish with nine points.
Punxsy continued to have very little rhythm offensively. Hobbs made note of the play of Danny Manion inside, who finished with a team-high four steals.
“I thought Danny did a real good job early on being in good help position,” Hobbs said. “He took a couple of good charges. We emphasized that… being in good help position and making them finish in traffic.”
After putting up 69 points on the Chucks in last Friday’s victory, Bradford had a much tougher time last night. Punxsy’s high-pressure defense forced a more methodical offensive approach from the Owls.
“They threw something completely different at us, and we have trouble simulating stuff like that in practice,” Hobbs said. “I think our confidence and our ability to attack and take good shots (is important).”
The Owls were getting some good looks but were too often careless with the basketball, and were fortunate that the Chucks didn’t convert on more opportunities than they did.
A buzzer-beating floater by Brice Whelan gave Bradford a 19-10 halftime lead.
As the third quarter began, Punxsy didn’t seem to be any great rush offensively despite trailing by nine. It led to an unsightly first few minutes of play, as a basket by Bradford’s Tyler Gigliotti (six points) roughly halfway through the quarter finally changed the score.
The lack of offense actually played to Bradford’s benefit, as their opponents continued to struggle miserably underneath the basket.
“That’s one of the things we’ve talked about is being physical but being smart, straight up, not fouling guys, make guys finish in traffic,” Hobbs said about defending underneath the basket. “They made some good shots but they also missed them that probably could’ve went in too because we were in the right position.
“Alec Kuzmeskas did a nice job on the boards tonight with 10 rebounds,” he added. “He’s been that dirty work guy for us all season long.”
For the game, Punxsy shot just 27 percent from the field (11-for-41).
After going into the third down 27-19, the Chucks were able to start the fourth on a 7-2 run thanks to a pair of 3-pointers from Brandon Matthews (12 points) and Ethan Blose (eight points).
While they were content to try to work some of the clock, the Owls needed to eventually make a key basket. They got one on a corner 3 from Boyer midway through the quarter to make it a three-possession game.
“Those were huge,” Hobbs said of Boyer’s makes from long range. “Those were nice shots that he made.”
Hobbs also praised the transition play of Deondre Terwilliger, who scored a game-high 14 points.
“Deondre had a couple transition baskets too. Those two have put a ton of time in, and I’m happy for Adam to be able to come off the bench and stick some shots.”
The Chucks had a couple of decent looks down the stretch, but couldn’t convert, as they fell to Bradford for the third time this season.
While the victory was well-earned, Hobbs believes his team needs to perform better if it hopes to keep its season alive.
“We’ve got to execute in practice,” he said. “We had a pretty sloppy one (Tuesday) night. I said to the guys, ‘Think about our practice last night, think about this game, and it’s a mirror image.’ How we practice determines how we play next week.”
Bradford will take on Clearfield in the district title game after the Bison defeated St. Marys 60-57 last night. The time and location of the game have yet to be announced.
For now, the Owls will take their victory and enjoy it — regardless of how it came about.
“Bottom line is we grinded it out,” Hobbs said. “We did what we needed to do to get the win and these guys want to stay alive. On our home court I think we’re tough to beat.”
AT BRADFORD
Punxsutawney (30)
Brandon Matthews 4 2-6 12, Richardson 1 1-1 3, Constant 1 0-0 2, Blose 3 0-0 8, Stouffer 1 0-0 3, Hoover 1 0-0 2. Totals: 11 3-7 30
Bradford (37)
Boyer 3 1-2 9, Pattison 3 0-0 6, Gigliotti 3 0-1 6, Whelan 1 0-0 2, Deondre Terwilliger 6 2-2 14. Totals: 16 3-5 37
Punxsy 3 10 19 30
Bradford 6 19 27 37
Three-point goals: Punxsy 5 (Matthews 2, Blose 2, Stouffer 1), Bradford 2 (Boyer 2); Total fouls: Punxsy 14, Bradford 11; fouled out: none
