Gavin Babcock had a bit of a coming out party for the Bradford Owls on Tuesday.
The senior guard, who transferred from Oswayo Valley after last year, scored a game-high 21 points to lead the Owls to a hard-fought, 47-37 non-league victory over DuBois Central Catholic.
And while Babcock has been playing well for Bradford (4-1) through the early going this season, his team really needed just about all of those 21 points against the Cardinals Tuesday.
After holding onto a one-point lead after the first quarter and a double-digit advantage at halftime, the Owls ran into trouble after the intermission against the Cardinals (1-3).
DCC started that frame on a 9-2 run and forced Bradford into some tough turnovers as a result of its full-court press and fast-paced style of play.
But after head coach Brian Hobbs used a timeout mid-way through the quarter, the Owls came out much more composed. Bradford played much better on both sides of the ball and outscored the Cardinals 19-11 for the remainder of the game to close out its third straight victory.
“(DCC) likes to speed up the game a little bit,” Hobbs said. “They like to chase and make the game a little bit sloppy. I thought in the first half we did a very good job of taking care of the ball and not letting that stuff bother us.”
“That third quarter was a little bit rough and then into the fourth quarter we didn’t execute our press breaks. The guys just need to be mentally tough in those situations, control the ball and value possession. Thought we got a little sloppy with it at the end there.”
It was turnovers aplenty for both teams, as the Owls committed 17 and DuBois Central had 23 of its own.
But when the Owls needed a bucket — and were able to actually set up their offense — the man to find was Babcock.
He had 11 points at halftime and accounted for 19 of his team’s 34 points through three quarters. All the more impressive was that Babcock performed at that level dealing with an injured ankle, according to his head coach.
“He tweaked his ankle a little bit so we weren’t sure how that was going to go but he did a nice job,” Hobbs said. “Got us going early with those two threes that he hit. He’s made himself pretty comfortable with what we’re doing and we are glad to have him.”
The game was still within two possessions late, when the Owls were able to once again put the game away with their continued hot shooting from the free-throw line.
After sinking 18 free throws in Saturday’s win against Otto-Eldred, Bradford went 15-for-21 on Tuesday, including seven makes in the fourth quarter.
Once again leading the hot shooting was point guard Tyler Gigliotti. The junior had just six points coming into the quarter, but had ice in his veins with eight points and six free throws down the stretch to thwart any attempted DCC comeback.
“That’s one of the things we are doing well,” Hobbs said. “We have confidence from the line and guys are knocking shots down, (Gigliotti) especially in the last (couple) games. He’s been really mentally tough through this stretch in the fourth quarter hitting free throws.”
The Owls look to make it four in a row on Thursday against Johnsonburg before the holiday break.
DuBois Central (37)
Justin Miknis 6 5-5 18, Kurtz 3 0-0 6, Downer 2 2-5 6, Felix 2 0-0 4, Solnosky 1 0-0 3. Totals: 14 7-10 37
Bradford (47)
Gavin Babcock 8 3-4 21, Tyler Gigliotti 3 9-10 15, Pattison 1 1-2 3, Knowlton 1 1-4 3, Bryant 1 0-0 2, Schmidt 1 0-1 2. Totals: 15 15-21 47
DCC 11 16 27 37
Bradford 12 26 34 47
Three-point goals: DCC 2 (Miknis, Solnosky), Bradford 2 (Babcock); total fouls: DCC 19, Bradford 11; fouled out: none
JV: Bradford won 48-46
