The opportunities were there for Bradford.
In a typical matchup between Bradford and St. Marys matchup — a defensive rock fight with plenty of physicality — the Owls had chances to strike late and take a game over their D9 League foe.
But in that game of runs that never saw a team lead by more than seven points, the Flying Dutchmen managed to escape the Owls’ Nest with a 38-35 victory on Friday night.
“This was the kind of game we anticipated. We knew if any team hit 40, it would be winning this game,” BAHS coach Chuck Bell said. “I think it’s tough in a season like this. We haven’t had a ton of practices, and we’d like to have more in so we could vary some things we did, especially offensively. But it was a hard-fought game.”
Bradford (3-3) led 32-29 late after Cam Austin put in a field goal with 7:06 to play, but St. Marys (3-0) countered with a 7-0 run that spanned the remainder of the quarter to take a 36-32 lead. The Dutch were keyed by five points from Mitchell Reiter during that stretch, who finished with a team-high 14 points.
The Owls trimmed that four-point deficit to one after Gavin Piscitelli drilled a 3-pointer with six seconds to go, and then had a massive opportunity after Holden Housler missed the front end of a 1-and-1 chance.
But St. Marys managed to grab a rebound off Housler’s miss, and Drake Caskey knocked down a pair of his own free throws to push the lead back out to 38-35.
Bradford took a timeout to draw up a play, and perhaps got the look it needed. Austin came off of a double screen and was sprinting down the left wing as the Owls inbounded the ball to just shy of midcourt.
But the second pass, intended for Austin, sailed long and went out of bounds, and St. Marys ran out the remaining second after its ensuing inbound.
“(St. Marys) did a nice job and played it well,” Bell said. “They had a guy sitting in the middle, and we couldn’t get the ball where we wanted to shorten up that second pass. We made a longer pass than we wanted. We had (Austin). He came off the double screen and was open, but it was a longer pass than we wanted.”
The Owls had initially grabbed an 11-5 lead after the first quarter, thanks to a pair of Piscitelli treys. The senior finished the night with a game-high 15 points.
But in the second quarter, St. Marys went on a run of its own. The Dutch (3-0) trimmed their deficit to 12-8 to start, and then went on an 11-0 spurt keyed back back-to-back treys from Caskey and a handful of Owl turnovers. That run put the Dutchmen up 19-12, the largest advantage either team held all game.
Caskey finished with 10 points.
After Dalton Dixon hit a two and Jake Franz knocked in a 3-pointer to stop the bleeding and bring the Owls back to within one possession, Reiter put in a field goal to put the Dutch up 21-17 at half.
“We knew it was going to be a fight and a game of runs. We got one at the start, but then they got one and we had to find a way to combat that and be ready to grind,” Bell said. “We said (at halftime) every little detail would be important the rest of the way, whether it was a loose ball, a tip or a rebound. The little details became very important.”
Out of halftime, the teams exchanged the lead five teams during the third period, setting up a showdown in the fourth. Bradford entered the final period up 30-29.
Austin scored his bucket at the 7:06 mark, and then it wasn’t until 4:13 remained in the game that either team scored again. St. Marys had gone scoreless from the 2:38 mark of the third quarter until that point, before Reiter got the Dutch back on track.
“He’s a solid kid and a nice point guard they have,” Bell said of Reiter. “He gets to the paint well and tonight he knocked down some shots… Reiter got to the middle of the paint, and we knew he was going to attack us. That’s why we didn’t play man.”
The Owls were still without Jarid Wilmoth, and are also still battling through some early-season injuries.
Given the circumstances, Bell isn’t discouraged as Bradford prepares for a Tuesday road game at Coudersport.
“I couldn’t ask for more out of (the kids). I think they’re just excited to be on the court and playing basketball,” Bell said. “We don’t know how many games we’re going to get in. We’ve gotten six and maybe that’s been beyond some people’s expectations. There’s not a complaint from any kid. They’re all coming to play and on that night, whoever we have, we play with. Tonight we just came up a little short.”
AT BRADFORD
St. Marys (38)
Mitchell Reiter 6 2-3 14, Drake Caskey 3 2-2 10, Housler 1 2-4 5, Lasko 3 0-0 6, Schlimm 1 1-2 3. Totals: 14 7-11 38
Bradford (35)
Gavin Piscitelli 4 3-3 15, Austin 3 0-0 6, Dixon 2 1-2 5, Ward 1 0-0 3, Franz 2 0-0 6. Totals: 12 4-5 35
St. Marys 5 21 29 38
Bradford 11 17 30 35
Three-point goals: SM 3 (Caskey 2, Housler), Bradford 7 (Piscitelli 4, Franz 2, Ward); Total fouls: SM 8, Bradford 13; fouled out: Dixon (B)
