BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
Bradford High School’s girls and boys basketball teams each lost to Hawthorne in a Jan. 6 double-header in Starke.
The girls team had a chance to defeat the Hornets, but simply couldn’t overcome approximately 40 turnovers in losing 39-35.
Bradford (8-5) fell behind 8-2 in the first quarter, but then outscored Hawthorne 7-1 to tie the score going into the second quarter. Nichelle Brown got the run started, scoring on a break opportunity and adding a subsequent free throw. Ar’Nayshia Griffin and Jada Hankerson each had a basket to make the score 9-9.
The Tornadoes found themselves trailing by seven before outscoring the Hornets 4-2 to close out the first half. A basket by Griffin made it 19-14, while Brown was able to score on a drive to the basket before the buzzer to send Bradford into the locker room trailing 21-16.
Hawthorne opened the third quarter with an 8-2 run and was able to take an 11-point lead into the fourth quarter.
A steal by Hankerson and an offensive rebound by Ajiyah Jackson led to baskets that helped the Tornadoes pull to within 35-29. A Griffin basket later made it 37-31. Griffin then forced a backcourt turnover, which eventually led to Ayanna Pringle scoring off an offensive rebound and making it a 37-33 game with less than a minute remaining.
That was as close as Bradford would get as the Tornadoes committed turnovers on two straight possessions before Griffin scored on a layup before the final buzzer.
Griffin led the team with 14 points, while Pringle had eight points. Hankerson and Brown scored six and five points, respectively, while Jackson, who reached double digits in rebounds, added two points.
The loss snapped a two-game winning streak. Bradford entered the game off a 41-28 win over Ferguson and a 50-26 win over Fleming Island.
Bradford hosts Palatka on Tuesday, Jan. 10, at 7:30 p.m. and will host Keystone Heights on Thursday, Jan. 12, at 7 p.m.
Taking care of the ball was an issue for the Bradford boys team as well, with the Tornadoes committing more than 30 turnovers in a 58-24 loss to Hawthorne.
Bradford was able to stay close in the first quarter, with Breion Johnson making two free throws and Damarion Hankerson madding two field goals — one of which was a three-pointer. It was a 10-7 game before Hawthorne outscored the Tornadoes 10-2 in the second quarter.
The Hornets’ shooting woes (38 percent in the first half) prevented them from taking a bigger lead.
Hankerson made two three-pointers in the third quarter, while Mattox Burgin had one, but those baskets accounted for all of Bradford’s points in the quarter as Hawthorne built a 26-point lead.
Larry Ardley made two three-pointers for Bradford’s only points in the fourth quarter.
Hankerson led the Tornadoes with 13 points, while Ardley finished with six. Burgin and Johnson scored three and two points, respectively.
Bradford (1-10) suffered another two losses after playing Hawthorne: 59-36 at Fort White on Jan. 7 and 57-43 at Trenton on Jan. 9.
The Tornadoes host Eastside on Wednesday, Jan. 11, at 7:30 p.m. and will travel to play Madison County on Saturday, Jan. 14, at 7:30 p.m. Bradford returns home to play West Nassau on Tuesday, Jan. 17, at 7:30 p.m. and Fort White on Wednesday, Jan. 18, at 7:30 p.m.
