BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Second seed Bradford High School had no trouble dispatching of third seed Palatka, defeating the visiting Panthers 52-30 in a District 3-3A boys basketball semifinal game on Feb. 5.
The Tornadoes (16-4) remained undefeated on their home court this season, but they’ll have to travel to play a Newberry team that’s undefeated overall for the district championship on Friday, Feb. 7, at 7 p.m. Newberry, the tournament’s top seed, defeated fourth seed Interlachen 81-31 to advance.
Newberry (22-0) is fifth in the Florida High School Athletic Association/MaxPreps Class 3A power rankings.
Bradford never trailed against Palatka (7-20), which turned the ball over 10 times in a first half in which it shot just 5 of 19 from the field.
Maliki Cobarris opened the game with a three-pointer and scored the Tornadoes’ first five points. His offensive rebound led to a basket by Breion Johnson that put Bradford up 7-0.
K.J. Taylor scored off his own steal, while Johnson had a basket off a Jy’Quez Cason assist for an 11-4 Bradford lead.
The Tornadoes scored eight of the first nine points of the second quarter. Cason scored off his own steal, while Jordan Cason drove to the basket for a score following another turnover. Cobarris grabbed a rebound on the defensive end and dribbled the length of the court for a basket, while Taylor drove the baseline for a score and a 19-5 lead.
After Palatka got its first field goal of the quarter, Cobarris knocked down a three-point shot. Jordan Cason then scored off his own steal, making it a 25-7 game.
Bradford, which led 25-12 at halftime, opened the third quarter with a 14-2 run. Johnson had the first basket, followed by Jordan Cason and Kyren Green scoring off offensive rebounds. A Green steal led to a Cobarris basket and a 33-14 lead.
The run continued with a Jordan Cason basket, while Cobarris scored off his own steal. Taylor then made two free throws, pushing the Tornadoes’ lead to 39-14.
Cobarris went 6 for 8 from the foul line in the fourth quarter and finished with 17 points. Jordan Cason added nine points, while the Tornadoes also got six points each from Johnson and Taylor, five from Steven Carter, three from Green, two each from Caiden Carn and Jy’Quez Cason and one each from Jackson Parmeter and Bryston Williams.
