UNION CITY – The Bradford Railroaders won periods two and three to defeat the home-standing Mississinawa Valley Blackhawks 53-42 in WOAC Friday night boys basketball action.
“It was a massive team effort tonight,” said Bradford coach Alex Swabb. “Everybody was hitting shots when we needed to hit shots, and we were playing great defense one through five.”
Points were at a minimum in the opening quarter, with the Blackhawks taking the period 7-6, led by five Cing Scott points, including a 3-pointer.
Bradford found its shooting range in the second, taking the period 14-6 with Owen Canan hitting for six points, Greg Chowning five, including a trey, and Avery Felver knocking down a triple to lead 20-13 at the break.
“What disappointed me was I didn’t think we played very hard to start the game,” said Mississinawa Valley coach Jeff Vaughn. “As the game went on, we showed a little more toughness, and that is what I try to build with the kids, build on the positive parts.”
The Hawks continued to struggle to get the ball to drop in the third, but Bradford took advantage of three Chowning 3-pointers to win the period 13-7. This gave the Roaders a double-digit 33-20 lead with one quarter to play.
“I am very happy with our effort,” Coach Swabb noted. “Effort is a big thing for us. A lot of times, you can’t control what you do on offense, how well you shoot, how well they’re shooting in comparison, a lot of factors you can’t control in games, but effort is one thing we can always control every night. Tonight, I am incredibly proud of how we came out and fought.”
“Credit Bradford,” said Vaughn. “They shot the ball well. Chowning made a bunch of big threes; Canan is by far one of the best players in the league.”
Mississinawa 6’6” freshman Ben Hamilton led the Hawks to an attempted fourth-quarter comeback, cutting Bradford’s lead to seven points in coming up short and falling to Bradford. Hamilton accounted for 12 Hawks fourth-quarter points, including two 3-pointers, and sophomore Cing Scott chipped in six points in the final period for MV.
“Early on, it looked like it was going to be bad for us,” Coach Vaughn stated. “We struggled to score there for a while, and finally, in the fourth quarter, we looked to attack a little bit and scored 22 points.”
“As the game went on, we stepped up and defended and did a good job,” Vaughn added. “That’s the key; we have to get these kids to play hard all the time. We lost. I hate losing, but credit Bradford; they shot lights out.”
Hamilton led Mississinawa Valley and all scorers with a game-high 22 points. Canan led Bradford with 18 points, and Chowning added 17 points to the Roaders book.”
BOXSCORE:
BRADFORD – O. Canan 18, G. Chowning 17, Z. Harleman 5, A. Felver 4, R. Wirrig 4, Z. Lingo 3, T. Manuel 2 – TOTALS 13 9-15 6 53
MISSISSINAWA VALLEY – B. Hamilton 21, C. Scott 11, C. McGlothlin 4, C. Hanes 2, J. Beanblossom 2, C. Hardy 2 – TOTALS 13 7-13 3 42
3-POINTERS
Bradford 6 (G. Chowning 4, Z. Lingo 1, A. Felver 1)
Mississinawa Valley 3 (B. Hamilton 2, C. Scott 1)
SCORE by QUARTERS
06-14-13-20 53 Bradford
07-06-07-22 42 Mississinawa Valley
